The Dragon Chronicles
by YFWE
Summary: Chapter 4 of Part 3. Into the forest the group ventures, a forest full of surprises, of secrets... oh, and a werewolf or two. Next to last chapter of the story! Largely OC-based, as always.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! Miss me? No? Hm, okay.

So yeah, got a new fic here. I hope I get some reviews... we'll see what happens. XP

Anyway.. Yeah, this first chapter is a bit shady on the details... but that's ok... more shall be revealed next chapter.

This first chapter consists of a letter. Guess that's all I have to say. XD

The Dragon Chronicles  
Pt. 1- The Surrogate Cavalry  
Ch. 1-The Pivotal Partisan

Lao Shei,

I am unsure if you will receice this letter, nor am I sure that you will be able to read it. It is my sincere hope that you will receive and view it, as I believe that it is in your best interest to do so.

My name is... well, it is of no importance, really. I suppose I am... concerned. And with good reason, I am sure you will concur.

For you have witnessed these recent events firsthand.

Mr. Shei, the truth is this- recently, many respectable and powerful dragons have been killed. You, among few others, were somehow able to make it out alive. However, you cannot tell me that you survivors will be able to continue to defend the magical community in your present condition. I am sure that some of you may feel that, in time, you might be well enough again to fight off this new evil. And while I admire your courage and bravery, know this- your efforts will be completely futile.

You see, this evil, this villain... they are called the Reich, as I'm sure you know now. They know everything about the dragons that attended the Dragon Summit that fateful day. They know your country of origin, your powers, your strengths, your weaknesses. Mr. Shei, they even know your human identity. How they found this out is still under question. But we do know this- whatever their plans, it just might involve the younger dragons.

Mr. Shei... there is no doubt in my mind that, even after these troubling events, your grandson, Jake, is still alive. However, I am still fearful- I believe that somehow, someway, the Reich's plan involves him.

I believe I cannot stress this enough- Mr. Shei, it is imperative that we assemble some kind of replacement force. A 'surrogate cavalry,' if you will. It is my belief that if we are able to create an attack force that the villain does not yet know about, we may still have a chance of vanquishing the Reich.

Mr. Shei... do not ask me how I have this information, but I have a shortlist of eight children that may be of good use to us. They all have one thing in common- they have all been identified as carrying the dragon gene in their blood. Five have already discovered this gift. The other three... their powers have not yet surfaced, nor do thet know that they even carry this gene of transformation.

They will need extensive training (obviously, some more than others)- this much is known. So thus, they will need a Dragon Master to guide this group of youngsters along the way.

Mr. Shei, if you'd be so kind...

Now, this is only if you are up to the task. If not, I do understand. I am sure you would be able to find another suitable master, however, if you are unable to acquiesce this.

I suppose there is not much else to say. I shall be sending the students to your current residence in the coming days. Mr. Shei, I am counting on you now. These eight may be the only hope for the magical community now.

Godspeed.

Signed,

"Someone who cares"

END CHAPTER

And uh... thus ends the first chapter! I hope y'all liked it.. I'm gonna try to get the next chapter up very soon! See yas!

YFWE

"The Mexican Seagull of Doom" (don't ask XP)


	2. Chapter 2

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 1- The Surrogate Cavalry

Chapter 2- The Benefactor's Chosen

Stillness.

The sky that night was as clear and still as anyone could remember it being in recent weeks. The Philadelphian skyline, as a result, seemed calm, serene, peaceful. Skyscrapers penetrated the night sky, and bright, fiery stars dotted the horizon.

And atop one of these skyscrapers, one Philadelphian came to realize that nights like these are perfect in so many ways.

Perfect for a secret meeting place, that is.

A dark figure jetted across the sky, casting an ephemeral black shadow on each building it passed.

Finding a safe resting spot, the figure touched down on the rooftop of one building, and quickly changed shape.

Now, anyone who was not used to this phenomenon would have been set into confusion or fear, most likely. But Kay, she was quite used to this by now, and thus it had become somewhat of an almost second nature to her.

"Nightmare, Daydream...," she whispered in a tone and volume so low that it was a wonder that she could even hear her own words, "are you here?"

For a short moment, there was no answer, no response, not even the slightest detection of movement. But after a while, there came another whisper, equally low and near-silent, "Dreamcatcher... is that you?"

"Yes!" Kay gasped, as her being addressed as Dreamcatcher signified that the other presence on the rooftop was not an enemy, rather a friend.

Two figures that were quite similar to the shape that Kay had taken a few moments prior emerged from the darkness of the rooftop. And, just as Kay had done, they, too, changed into a human form.

These three, as it can be inferred, are dragons. Dragons of the Quietus Draco clan, to be more specific.

But even though Kay was convinced that she was safe and was happy to see her fellow clan members (and siblings, as it would later be revealed), she began to feel slightly uneasy, for it was apparent that her companions, now evident as a male and a female, were not convinced, judging by their accusing stares in her direction.

"How are we to know that you are the real Dreamcatcher?" the boy spoke to Kay, then turning to his female companion, said, "We do not know much of our enemy... it could quite well be that they are shapeshifters and have taken the form of Dreamcatcher."

"Nightmare!" Kay cried out. "It is me! Your sister, Dreamcatcher! I received your message to come here and..."

"Then if you truly are Dreamcatcher," the girl (Daydream) interrupted, "then we must ask you a kind of question- something that only our sister would know the answer to."

"Agreed," Nightmare nodded.

"Fine," Kay spat, folding her arms across her chest. "Bring it on."

"Tell me who my secret crush is- tone one only you and I know about...," Daydream said with a grin. Ah, sisterly secrets. A subject that Kay knew well.

Kay grinned widely, "That's an easy one," she laughed, "It's Johnny Depp. And you know, I TOTALLY agree with you. I mean, if fine was a crime..."

"You know it!" Daydream smiled.

"Okay, okay," said Nightmare. "So it is you, Dreamcatcher. Good to see you again."

"Can't say the same to you," Dreamcatcher grinned. "Damn, how many pounds have you put on since I saw you last? Gotta be at least ten..."

"How much I eat is between me, myself, and I," he growled. "I suggest that you say nothing more of it, as there are plenty of things I could say about you, Ms. 'I used to faint whenever David Morrison came up to me at school'..."

"That's enough, you two," sighed Daydream. She turned to her brother. "C'mon, Nightmare, I wanna get home before the next century. Tell her what you need to tell her, and let's go."

"Right," he said, and his expression became a bit more serious. "Dreamcatcher, we came to tell you this- the clan, our clan, was attacked last night. And just a few days after the attacks at Dragon Summit!"

"You were attacked? By who? And what about Dragon Summit?" Kay inquired.

"That's right," Daydream whispered to Nightmare, "she doesn't know about the attacks– how would she?"

"My mistake, then," said Nightmare. "Dreamcatcher... you know of the annual conference at the Dragon Summit, right?"

"Yeah... didn't you go a few years back when the older clan members had to vote on the new Council members?"

"Exactly the place... well, anyway, about half of our clan members attended the conference – one of the goals of the meeting was to create a union of many of the other clans in North America. But then...," he paused.

"What? What happened?" asked Kay.

"The Reich, that's what," Daydream sighed.

"Who-?"

"We don't know who they are... not even what they are," said Nightmare. "In fact, there was only one eyewitness account of anything that might be part of the Reich at Dragon Summit."

"The problem is," added Daydream, "he died later that day after it all happened. So we still don't know what they look like. But after what happened at Dragon Summit, we do know what they are capable of."

"What's that?"

"From what we've been told, it was almost as if there was some kind of explosion– something that would rival the dropping of a nuclear bomb... but without the bomb and the radiation, however with the mass chaos and destruction," explained Nightmare. "This explosion came out of nowhere, and it was somehow able to reach all corners of the Dragon Summit. Over 500 dragons were killed- including 50 of our own. Currently, only 20 dragons have survived the attack... none from our clan. From what we've been told, of those 20, only about a fifth will survive the next few days."

"That's terrible," Kay trailed off, staring off into the distant night, before gazing at Nightmare, "...so there was no one that saw anything? Nothing that was out of the ordinary?"

Nightmare nodded gravely. "I wish I could say that someone saw something. But... no, there was nothing. Sorry..."

"It isn't your fault. But wait!" exclaimed Kay, actually a bit annoyed. "You came here to tell me about the attack on our clan last night, not about what happened at the Dragon Summit. (Even though it was nice to know.) What happened? Was it the Reich again?

Nightmare and Daydream exchanged glances, and then nodded in sync. "We have reason to believe that the Reich was behind this attack, too," said Daydream. "Now, let me see... the clan was flying in the skies somewhere above Ottawa, when Nightmare spotted something on the ground."

"That's right," agreed Nightmare. "It was night, so it was surprising even to me that I saw it."

"It was a white figure," continued Daydream, "in the middle of a meadow. We descended a bit to get a closer look, and then it was apparent that whatever, the figure was, it was human- or at least had a human shape. It was clothed from head to toe in a white robe, with a white hood over its head."

"It was turned away from us," Nightmare said, "so we were able to hover without being seen. Normally... normally, we wouldn't have been that preoccupied with anyone on the ground- especially if it seemed human. However...," he paused for a moment, "for some reason, I was intrigued by this presence... be it good or evil."

"So there we were," said Daydream, "The twenty of us that didn't make the trip to Dragon Summit- the only remaining members of the clan- hovering there in utter silence. It was slightly confusing- what was this figure doing out here in the middle of this meadow? How did it get there? The meadow was completely surrounded by forest... and there was no human civilization for at least twenty miles, so whoever- or whatever- it was had hypothetically come a long way."

"Quick question," Kay said, a thoughtful look spread across her face, "Why was the clan there anyway? Why up in Canada?"

"There was a meeting," replied Nightmare, " that we were supposed to be attending. A meeting with the Royal Canadian Dragon Force. You see, they had lost a decent amount of members at the attack on Dragon Summit as well. We were meeting to hopefully form a coalition against the Reich, should they make any move to try and finish off what they started."

"Oh, right...," nodded Kay, although she didn't seem to be paying much attention to her siblings, but rather to something that had appeared just beyond were they stood..., "continue..."

"Well, it seemed like we hovered there forever," said Nightmare. "But suddenly, something strange began to occur. The figure... it began to glow."

Nightmare and Daydream turned toward each other, as if they were willing each other to continue on with the story, no matter how difficult it may have been to remember such past events, "It was a white glow," Daydream continued. "Really bright... yet nothing else around the figure lit up. And then... then, four other glowing figures appeared across the forest... in a star-shaped formation that surrounded the forest interior... where the Canadian dragons' headquarters were."

"We didn't have a clue as to what was happening," said Nightmare, his gaze not leaving Daydream's, "but we did know this- with all the events that had taken place in recent days, we HAD to check it out... especially if the other dragons were in danger."

"Daydream and I stayed behind with a few others while the remaining clansmen set out to investigate the other lights surrounding the forest. We, meanwhile, stayed in our same spot- behind the initial figure."

"Even at this point, we were still not exactly daunted by these figures- whoever they were. I suppose mere curiosity got the best of us, considering that we had to venture in that direction anyway," said Daydream.

"But then, another strange occurrence unfolded," Daydream said. "The glowing figures... the white lights that surrounded them now began to rise... up into the sky, slanting inward, until each beam of light met one another at what appeared to be a central point. And then... then, it was almost as if the light spread... to cover the entire area the figures surrounded. And then..."

She paused.

"Then... all went silent. There was a brilliant flash of light... and then nothing. No light, no figures... nothing."

"We looked around... all the dragons... were on the ground..."

"...dead," Nightmare finished. "It was as if the light... had produced the same effect as what had happened at Dragon Summit."

"Upon further examination, it was found that all of the Canadian dragons, too, had been killed. The Reich had struck again... and we don't know when they will again."

They turned to Kay. "Isn't that awful? That's what we needed to tell you, Dreamcatcher. To warn you..."

But then they paused.

For Kay was nowhere to be found.

(End)

"I think I see it!" the boy yelled, his light blue hair bouncing wildly atop his bandana as he raced down the dim hallway, a sense of both anticipation and fear overwhelming him.

"Really? Where?" screamed his companion, a tall, lanky boy of about fourteen, as he struggled to keep up. "Shade! Dude, I can't see you! Where'd you go?!"

"I'm up here, James," Shade called, trying to motion his friend on, although not stopping even slightly.

"Where!?"

Shade sighed. "Don't worry about it! I'll catch it myself. Here... you stay here and keep watch in case it comes back through!"

"Here... in the dark... alone?"

"C'mon, dude, it's just the third floor of our school... without the lights on. Don't worry about it! I'll see you in a bit!"

He rounded a corner (it was surprising to Shade that he was able to remember where this corner was in the dark... he had been fearful that he might've misinterpreted it and instead slammed headlong into a row of lockers) and continued down the narrow corridors of Millard Fillmore Middle School. See, this night happened to be the annual school lock-in. And, although the attendants were not permitted to enter the third floor of the school (since there was no real reason for anyone to venture up there anyway), James and Shade had decided that it was a good idea to do so... for, from the second floor stairwell, they had viewed a shady figure leering at them from the top of the stairs, and then darting away as soon as it had been spotted. Now, the two friends KNEW that something was amiss here... and who knew– it was possible that this person... or thing... could be some kind of child-stealing pedophile. And that's never a good thing to have in a school... especially at a lock-in.

Once Shade was sure that James had ceased following him and had taken his post a few yards down the other hallway, he paused for a slight moment.

"I'm never gonna catch this thing," he said, "...as a human."

And with these words, Shade was engulfed from head to toe in a solid block of ice... then the ice broke away, revealing a light-blue dragon in his place.

"Yeah... now we're in business," laughed Shade, and with that he beat his blue wings twice and soared into the air, his eyes now adjusting much better to the darkness... just in time to see the figure he was chasing turn into a distant classroom...

"Got you now," he grinned triumphantly, and slowed his pace a bit. He had to keep quiet– God forbid he be heard by James, who didn't know about Shade's dragon powers. And he couldn't know... at least not now...

(End)

"Guys, I'll be back in a second," announced a short, black-haired girl at around the same time.

"What's up? Where you going, Raffi?" asked one of her friends.

"Um... bathroom."

"On the third floor?"

"Uh... all the other's are... filled," Raffi said, growing more impatient by the second.

"We're not supposed to go up to the third floor, though..."

"Aw, c'mon, it's not like you guys'll tell on me... right?"

"Whatever, Raffi," another friend said. "Just hurry up and... do your thing... and get back before the chaperones realize you're gone."

"Thanks," nodded Raffi, turning on her heel and sprinting up the stairwell that connected the second and third floors of Millard Fillmore Middle School.

She, too, had seen the shady figure... like the one James and Shade had discovered... although at the other stairwell, on the opposite side of the school.

She reached the top of the stairs... to see the figure standing a few paces away from her.

"Hey!" she yelled.

(End)

"Did someone just say something?" Shade whispered, still standing about 100 feet from the classroom through which the other shady figure had just entered.

(End)

"What was that?" James asked himself, moving from his former location in the opposite hallway. "Was that Shade? He might be in trouble!"

He shut his eyes tight, whispering, "Eye of the dragon." And when he reopened them, they glowed a brilliant red.

"Much better," James said. "Now... let's see what's going on, shall we?"

He rounded the hallway corner...

(End)

The shady figure in front of Raffi turned and ran toward the nearest classroom... the same one that the other figure had entered.

"Get back here!" she said, chasing after the black shadow-like figure.

(End)

"What's that?" Shade exclaimed, seeing two more figures enter the classroom. "There's more of these things? This oughtta be fun..." He, too, sprinted inside the classroom.

(End)

"What's that?" whispered James, seeing a huge black figure turn into a classroom. "That doesn't look like the thing we saw earlier... I'd better check it out!"

(End)

When Raffi entered the classroom, she found that she could see even less than before. But, since she had been in this classroom before, she knew where the light switch was.

She flipped it on... to find three black figures standing by the windows on the other side of the room... and another girl, around her age.

"Um... hello?" Raffi said.

"Raffi... is that you?" the girl turned around. It was Ashleigh... another girl from her school.

"Yeah, um, hey..."

"Yeah, hey..."

"What are you doing up here?" she asked awkwardly.

But before she could answer, someone else burst into the room... Shade.

"Now I've got you- whoa!" he yelled. He wasn't expecting... his classmates.

"...a dragon?" Ashleigh said, wide eyed.

Shade froze. "Um... you're just seeing things! This is all a... dream!"

But then, before anyone else could say anything, Ashleigh was engulfed in a dark blue flame... before reemerging... as a tall, dark blue dragon.

"Well... this is... unexpected," Shade said, extremely confused.

"You guys... are dragons?" Raffi asked in disbelief.

The two dragons turned toward her... trying to find the words to say.

"Cool! So am I!" and she, like Ash, was covered in a blue flame... and soon, a light blue/lavender dragon stood in her place.

Then the three just stood there... in complete silence... and awe.

"Well..."

"Um..."

"This is kinda awkward, isn't it?" asked Shade sheepishly.

"Haha... yeah, it is," replied Raffi. "You're... Shade, right?"

He nodded.

The three of them, somehow, all seemed to remember then that there were three shady figures right in front of them. They all turned toward them... to find three adults, all clothed in black suits. Two were male, while one appeared female.

"Um... who are you?" Ash asked.

One- a brown haired, well-built male- smiled. "We were wondering when you would finally notice us... let's see, there are three of you. There's supposed to be one more..."

Just then, James, glowing red eyes and all, stepped inside. "Shade... you in here... WHOA!" He saw the three dragons before him. "I guess not..."

"Is that him?" asked the woman.

"Yes," said the brown haired man. "Welcome, James."

"Um... hey," said James, his eyes reverting to their normal color. He stared over at the other dragons. "Who are these guys?"

"It's me, James," Shade laughed. "Shade. And this is Ash and Raffi... from our school, remember?"

"YOU'RE a dragon, Shade?" exclaimed James. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well... I didn't think you were too..."

"Quiet," the man spoke again. "I cannot speak much here. You four– you must come with us. It is urgent that you do so... without question." He held out his hand, raised it, and a door formed from the ground up."

"Please enter, and you shall know more."

The four all glanced at each other. Shade shrugged, walked forward and entered through the door. The other three followed... and then the three adults entered, the last one closing the door behind him...

(End)

"Jay... c'mon, stop it!!!" the girl giggled wildly, bounding across her living room.

"Laura, get back here!" her boyfriend gave chase, tackling her to the couch. "Here's the deal... I'm gonna tickle you, you're gonna like it, and that'll be the end of it."

"Noooo!" she squealed.

"Yes!" he laughed, kissing her on the cheek.

"Noooo!" she giggled, writhing free from his grip once more.

"Sneaky one, aren't ya?" Jay smiled. He began to give chase once more... but was suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Laura stopped laughing. "What? Jay, what is it?"

"Um... it's not Halloween, is it?"

"No..."

"Tell that to the guy standing at your front door..."

Laura turned to look out her front window... to see an African-American man in a black suit standing at her front door. He kind of looked like Will Smith in Men in Black... only bald.

"...who is that guy?" she asked.

"Dunno... better answer the door, though..."

Laura nodded, walked over to the door, and opened it. "Um... may I help you?" She asked, with a hint of uncertainty.

"Is this the residence of Laura Bellamy?" the man boomed.

"Um... yeah, that's me..."

"Is, by any chance, Jay Hughes here with you?"

"Yeah... he's over there," she pointed over at Jay, who simply waved.

The man took out what appeared to be some kind of walkie-talkie. "The boy is here. Cancel search of the boy's home."

"Um...," stuttered Laura, "what's this all about? Can I help you with something?"

"I cannot explain now," said the man, "but I need you both to come with me."

"Wha? No!" exclaimed Laura, her face twisting into fright, "We don't even know who you are! We're not just gonna leave with you!"

"You will if you want the magical world to live on..."

Laura froze. "The magical world?... what do you mean?"

"Ms. Bellamy, we know you're a dragon. And we also know that, without you, the world as we know it may soon perish. That's all I can explain now. I need you– rather, BOTH of you– to come with me now."

Laura turned slowly toward Jay, who just stood there in confusion. "Um," she said, turning back to the man, "Jay... he's a normal human. Why... does he need to come."

"Ms. Bellamy, maybe I did not make myself clear before– there is no time for explanation right now. Rest assured, all shall be revealed soon. But until then... it is imperative that you come with me."

Laura sighed. "Jay... c'mon."

"Laura... what's this all about?"

"I... can't explain right now. You need to come right now... both of us do. It's... something we gotta do. There's... there's something I gotta tell you... about me."

And, although reluctantly, Jay finally did come to her side. The man stepped aside, revealing an open door– swirling, blue shapes on the other side.

"Laura, what is..."

She clutched his hand. "Jay... just come on."

And together, the two of them walked through the door, both in confusion and anticipation.

(End)

The girl's computer chair squeaked loudly as she turned to her computer, her face wet with tears. She pushed her long blond hair out of her face, sniffling as she did so. She began to type. "I hate my life...," she read aloud as she typed. "Matt, why did you have to leave me..."

She slammed her fist onto her computer table. "Dammit, why did you have to go?" she cried out, sending various papers flying all over her dimly-lit room.

She sighed, and began to type again. "By the time any of you read this... I will be gone... gone to a place where all this hurt, all this pain, will be gone. I will miss many of you... but this is for the best..."

She paused, for she thought she had heard something.

"You know... suicide isn't the answer...," said a voice from inside the room.

"Wh-what?" she asked, looking around. "Who's... there?"

"Right over here... look over by your window."

"Wha...?" she turned to see a black figure standing by her window. "Who are you?"

"Who I am is of no importance," said the figure, stepping out of the shadows and into the light. It was a woman, with shoulder-length red hair, with a black suit on. "All I'm saying is... suicide isn't the answer... believe me, I tried once."

"Then what is?" the girl sniffled.

"I dunno... ever watched SpongeBob Square Pants? Always seems to work for me..."

"WHO ARE YOU?!?!?!" screamed the girl. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?!"

"Calm down, Kate. I can explain... you just gotta come with me."

"Come... with you?! What do you think I am, crazy? I'm better off here!"

"Here? You're better off dying?"

"Well..."

"Look," the woman sighed, "It's... complicated. But... believe me, Kate, you DO have something to live for... I'm not sure what happened between you and this Matt boy, but let me tell you this– relationships suck anyway. But if you come with me... we can make it all better, I hope. You just... gotta believe me."

Kate stared at the woman for a moment... before nodding. "Sure, I'll go with you. I mean... why stay here?"

"That's my girl," the woman smiled. She raised her hands, and a door appeared. "Just follow me, and everything will be answered."

(End)

The room was crowded. That much was for sure. There were, at that point, seven children, all in about the age range of thirteen to sixteen. And when Kate finally entered with the black-suited woman, the meeting could finally begin.

The five adults that had brought them to this place stood nearby, whispering to each other in an indistinct manner. Meanwhile, the eight children all stood around, either talking to each other or sitting alone– there was first Shade, Ash, Raffi, and James, who were excited to share with each other about their dragon powers. (The former three had reverted back to human form.) Kay had made her way over to Jay and Laura, who were talking about... who knows what... although Jay still had no idea as to what was going on. And then there was Kate, sitting off by herself idly, staring at all the commotion, and wiping the tears from her eyes that were still wet from her encounter at her home.

A hushing soon fell over the room, as a new person had just entered the room.

It was a man, with graying hair and the familiar black suit. He seemed quite old... but on the other hand, he also seemed very healthy– as if he could just get up and run a marathon right then and there.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "allow me to introduce myself. My name is Atticus Stevenson."

He glanced around at the eight teenagers that sat around the room. "And I'm here to speak to our future... for you eight are our... "saviors"..."

"The eight of you are going to, in time, save the magical world."

END CHAPTER

Holy crappos!! What a weird ending. XP Anyway... wow, that chapter was long!!! XD So um... please read and review!!!!! THANKS!!!

YFWE


	3. Chapter 3

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 1- The Surrogate Cavalry

Chapter 3- The Reclusive Academy

After Atticus said this, a hush fell over the eight that stood before him.

"Wait... what did you say?" Kay asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah... what do you mean?" agreed James.

"I mean precisely what I said," Atticus said, his eyes gazing sternly around the room. "You eight– you have been prophesied as being the only persons on this planet that can save us from this unmistakable evil known as... the Reich."

"The Reich? Who's that?" asked Raffi. The others nodded in agreement, save for Kay, who had already heard about them from Nightmare and Daydream... although she kept quiet.

"They're our antagonists," explained Atticus. "They are... the evil you must save the magical world from."

"Hold on a second here!" Jay suddenly arose, a confused and slightly angry look on his face. "Before you even talk about this 'Reich' thing, I wanna know what's going on here! What's this 'magical world' thing all about? Who ARE you people?!?"

"Yeah!" Kate stood up as well. "What's going on here?"

"Patience, young ones," Atticus smiled. "All shall be revealed soon."

"Dammit, I wanna know what's going on NOW!"

Atticus sighed. He turned to the nearest black-suited accomplice of his. "Mr. Warburton, it would be greatly appreciated if you would take Jay and Kate into the next room... there, you may tell them all that they desire to know."

Warburton, the black man that had come to Laura's home, came forward and motioned for Jay and Kate to follow him, and they did, exiting through a door on the right side of the room.

"Now then," Atticus turned back towards the remaining six. "I suppose that you all would like to know why you're here..."

"Yeah, that would be nice," Shade remarked.

"Hm... well, alright then," Atticus sat down in a chair facing them. "Where shall I begin?"

"Just begin with... why on earth we're here right now," said James.

Atticus nodded. "You all... well, as I'm sure you know– and have known for a good while– are dragons. The six of you were born with the dragon gene in your blood– and I'm almost certain that most, if not all, of you were told this at a young age by your parents."

"However, here is the reason you all are here. Quite simply, for some reason, none of you were ever registered as dragons in front of the Dragon Council– something that is supposedly mandatory of all dragons in the world."

"So that's all this is?" asked Laura. "We just get registered as dragons and then be on our way back home?"

"Well... no, actually. You see– in this case, it was a good thing that the eight of you have never been registered– for it means that our greatest enemy does not know about any of you."

"Our greatest enemy? Who's that?" asked Ash.

"...the Reich," Kay whispered.

"Correct, Kay. It is the Reich whom we are in conflict with," nodded Atticus. "They are... a group of persons devoted fully to ridding the world of the entire magical population– and they've begun to do so by first eliminating their greatest threat– dragons."

"Clan by clan, dragon by dragon, they are being picked off. Last night, in fact, we were informed that the entire Canadian dragon force had been wiped out– by the Reich, no less. They killed hundreds of thousands of dragons at Dragon Summit... and by our calculations, there is a mere ten percent left of the dragons that once populated this earth."

The six just sat there in complete silence, in what seemed to be disbelief. How could this be happening? All these dragons... dead. _Why _was this happening?

"We are unsure as to what the Reich's motives are... why they feel it necessary to kill all these innocent magical creatures... but we do know this– they will not cease until everything is gone. Then, their mission is complete."

"So... okay, I understand that we are, for one reason or another, under the radar... we haven't been recognized by the Reich," Raffi said. "But... shouldn't that mean that we should stay where we were... that way, we're still safe? Why are we here instead?"

"Well, Raffi... recall what I spoke of earlier, if you will. I said that you eight are destined to be the saviors of the magical race. We will keep you here– to train you for the unmistakable challenges that lie ahead... should you accept it."

"And if we refuse?" Shade asked.

"Then you may go back to your homes, no problem. However... you may only be safe for a short time– the Reich, I'm sure, has ways to find you all eventually– so if you do refuse, and this evil is not stopped, I would be quite fearful for your lives."

Atticus rose from his chair. "The choice is yours. However, we could really use your help." He walked to the door through which Jay and Kate had left earlier with Warburton. "If you are all ready to begin, follow me through this door. If not... talk to any of my associates in the back of the room, and they will return you to wherever it is you have come from." He then nodded to the six and disappeared into whatever was outside this room.

And so the six sat there, as it seemed, in deep thought. That is, all except for Kay.

"I don't know about you guys," she said, standing up, "but those guys have killed too many dragons. And I'm not gonna just stand around here and let them continue all these killings! I'm gonna try and save the magical world... even if it means I'm doing it alone."

Kay then walked briskly out of the room, not turning even once to see if anyone was following her. I believe that, even if no one had ever followed her, it wouldn't have mattered to her.

And then there were five...

"Y'know," Raffi said softly, "...I agree with her. I guess... I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I spent every day back home knowing that people were dying... and I could've saved them."

"That's what I was thinking...," nodded Shade. "But I... I just don't think I could go... without the rest of you."

"What do you mean?" Laura asked.

"I mean... I'm not going unless you guys are."

"Well, I am," said James decisively.

"Me too," both Ash and Laura said.

"And I'm definitely going if you're going," said Raffi, her gaze meeting Shade's, but then quickly averting her eyes away, "...because... I mean, everyone else is..."

"It's settled then," Ash announced. "We're ALL going... as a team."

The five of them stood up and, as Kay had done earlier, followed each other out of the room.

Quite strange, it was– the new area they entered into through this door, that is. It was a long, narrow corridor, whose beige, plastered walls seemed to stretch on for as far as the eye could see– at least until about 300 feet away, when the hallway ended with an enormous, stained-glass window that appeared to extend above and below onto other floors. Other doors– similar to the one that they had recently exited through– lined the corridor as well, and about mid-hallway, there was what appeared to be a staircase of some sort– although many of their observations, save for the wall color and the doors, could only be inferred, as they were still quite a ways down the hall.

"Wow, um... look at all these doors... Mr. Stevenson could've gone into any of them...," said James in awe. "It'll take forever to find him."

There came no immediate answer from the group collectively, but it seemed as if they all were, too, wondering where the dashing old man had wandered off to. They began to step rather quickly, growing slightly impatient at this predicament that presented itself. Not only didthey not know where Mr. Stevenson had gone– but what about Kay, who had left hastily much earlier than they. Had she found Stevenson? Or was she, too, lost in this enormous place– a place they still did not know the name of, nor where it was located. And what about the other two in their party– Jay and Kate? Were they somewhere inside this place as well– with Warburton?

It became evident soon, however, that wherever any of them were, it was not on this floor. They came to the staircase that sat about mid-hallway and paused, knowing that they would have to go either up or down.

The staircase itself was a sight to behold. Compared to the beige walls of the hallway before it, along with the brown carpeted floor, the staircase seemed quite out of place. It was a grand white marble staircase– wide at the top, narrowing toward the middle, and then widening again at the bottom. It looked as if it had been pulled from the Titanic's watery grave , had been fully restored, and was placed there.

The staircase also ascended to an upper floor. However, this section was much less elegant– it was simply brown and wooden– although it still had a slightly charming feel to it. They, however, didn't seem to notice this floor as much; it was the bottom floor– the one reachable by the grand marble stairwell– that seemed to be given their utmost interest. For there, standing at the foot of the stairs, staring up at them and smiling warmly, was Atticus Stevenson.

"Ah... I had hoped that Kay wouldn't be the only one– welcome!" he grinned. "Now, if you'll all follow me, we may begin..."

"Begin what?" asked Laura.

"Why, your training, of course," Atticus laughed rather oddly– as if there was something about this 'training' that intrigued him. Perhaps it was just that he would be seeing their powers for the first time. But they could not be sure– at least not now. Atticus then disappeared into a door on his left– one that seemed a bit more 'important' than the others they had encountered up to that point, considering its sky blue, marble frame that surrounded exquisitely carved light wooden doors, which were also about twice the size of all others they had seen so far.

The five of them stared around at each other, wondering whether or not they should follow him. They didn't see why not– Atticus seemed like a trustworthy individual, someone that wouldn't mean to do them any harm– why not follow him?

And so they did, single file, opening the door cautiously and stepping into something that might resemble some sort of everlasting black abyss– if such a thing ever did exist.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Ash retorted. No one answered.

"Guys... is that you?" asked a female voice.

"Um... sure... who are you?" Raffi asked.

"It's Kay... the one who left before you guys, remember?"

"Oh, yeah... any idea what's going on?"

"Well... Mr. Stevenson told me to wait in here, but he turned the lights out as soon as I entered, so I couldn't see anything. Then he left, and... then you guys came in."

"Yeah... I vote we get outta here," Shade sighed. "I'm not gonna stand around here in the dark. I thought this was supposed to be training."

The rest of the group murmured in agreement. This WAS strange– why would Atticus lead them into a pitch-black room and then leave them all alone– especially when he had said that the reason for their entering this room was for their training to begin?

But then these thoughts were wiped away from their mind, when a sudden flash of light garnered their attention.

The lights of the room had come on, shining with such bright intensity at first that it was nearly blinding to the group. But soon, the preceding glare began to mellow out– just in time for them to see six mechanical arms come shooting toward them, with the claw-like appendages that sat on the ends of the arms outstretched, meaning, it seemed, to grab the kids and do... well, whatever it is mechanical arms do to people.

With incredible ease, the arms grabbed each and every one of them before they had any time to react even slightly.

"Wha...?" Laura cried out.

"What's going on?!" screamed Raffi, flailing about and beating the cold steel arms with her hands. "Put us down!!"

They were hoisted higher and higher into the air, all the while beginning to finally examine their surroundings. It was a large room– with what appeared to be white plaster walls and large lights hanging from the ceiling. The mechanical arms were connected to the ceiling as well, which is where they were being taken. Which is never a good thing.

Once the arms reached the ceiling, they paused. And so they hung there, suspended against the ceiling, unable to do, really, anything.

"Well, um...," stuttered Kay, "anyone got any bright ideas here?"

"Hm... well, no, not really," Ash sighed.

But before anyone could suggest anything... the universal concept stating that "what comes up must come down" was realized– as the mechanical arms that held them opened, sending them hurtling towards the tiled floor– which was approximately a hundred feet down.

For a split second, each and every one of the six stared in horror at the quickly-approaching ground. That is, until James broke this trend.

"Dragon... UP!" he yelled, and his entire body was engulfed in a jet black flame, before he emerged as a large dark dragon– quite akin to that of the actual Dark Dragon himself.

The remaining five quickly did the same– Raffi, Shade, Kay and Ashleigh returning to the dragon forms they had already exhibited earlier on that day, while Laura shifted into an orange-scaled dragon that seemed slightly smaller than the rest, by maybe a foot or so.

The dragons soared through the air, narrowly evading the ground, and then shot back up into the air, hovering there for a moment as they attempted to regain their composure.

"Whew... that was close," gasped Laura, out of breath.

"Whoa... we're not out of this yet!" Kay yelled.

And she was right. For the arms that had bound them earlier now came hurtling towards them once more, with even more vivacity than before.

Quickly and without hesitance, Raffi proceeded to shoot a basketball-sized orb of fire at the nearest arm. Upon contact, the arm seemed to cower back, the fire consuming the 'fingers' and working its way up the arm, consequently rendering it immobile, thus it fell to the ground, officially out of the grand scheme of things.

"Guys!" Raffi exclaimed excitedly. "Just breathe fire on the arms! It takes 'em out!"

And so they all followed Raffi's advice– at least to the best of their ability. James breathed an enormous black ball of fire at his pursuant arm, while Ash and Kay were a bit more... traditional, shooting brilliant orange flames at their opponents.

Shade and Laura differed from them, however. Shade, when he attempted to take down his respective arm, spit a brilliant-blue stream of ice at it, which covered it completely and froze it in its tracks. Meanwhile, Laura shut her eyes tight, as if she was concentrating deeply, and when she reopened them, they glowed a bright, piercing yellow. She raised her arms above her head, and a swirling cloud of intense lightning formed in between her taloned hands. After a few seconds, she hurled the lightning at the remaining arm, causing it to explode on impact. And with this, all six of the arms were vanquished.

Still, the six dragons remained suspended in the air, as if they were expecting that there was still the possibility of there being another attack on them. But after a few moments, it became apparent that there would be no such attack, and they finally flew to the ground and reverted back to their human forms, all the while wondering: Why were they attacked? And by who?

This was all about to become clear, they'd soon find out. For as soon as they touched ground, they heard the sound of clapping– applause, no less. It reverberated through the room, giving the appearance of a crowd of people... although in reality, as they realized when they glanced at the nearby door they had entered through earlier, there was only one person giving them the ovation– and he just so happened to be someone they had not expected– even though it actually made perfect sense.

There stood Atticus Stevenson, his face twisted into a scheming grin, at the door, his hands clasped together in applause. "Bravo, bravo... very good, children. I'm impressed..."

But the rest of them didn't exactly share his enthusiasm on the subject. "What's going on here, _Atticus_!?" spat Shade, his apparent ire coloring his face red with annoyance. "What was up with the metal arms of doom? You trying to kill us?!"

"'Cause if that's what you were aiming for, it didn't work. Those things were simple to defeat...," added Ash.

"Well, of COURSE they were easy," Atticus chuckled. "Do you honestly believe that I WANTED to kill you all? If I had wanted to do that, it would have been much worse, believe me."

"Then what was all that about?" growled James.

"I told you all that your training would begin inside this room, did I not?" Atticus asked with a sly look on his face.

"Well... yes, I guess you did..."

"And it DID begin, did it not?"

"Well, now that you've cleared this all up, I suppose we have," sighed Raffi.

"Exactly. Now," grinned Atticus, "it is obvious that you have passed your first test."

"And... what was that?" Kay asked.

"Quite simple, really– kill your attackers before they kill you," he laughed. "And you succeeded. Well done."

"Wait... but those arm things technically weren't even alive... they were just machines!" Laura chimed in.

"Does it really matter, Ms. Bellamy?"

"Well, if you meant what you said, it kinda does..."

"That's enough, Ms. Bellamy. Now... not only did this session enable me to observe your combat styles," continued Atticus, "but it also revealed your powers to me. As you've seen, not all of you 'breathe fire,' as is custom with most dragons– and I wished to see whether any of you were like this: and apparently, our hunches were accurate."

"Okay...," Shade said, "I understand... I think. So, uh... what now?"

"What now, you ask?" Atticus's sly grin had returned. "Now you all will accommodate yourselves here at the academy– make yourselves at home. And then, we can truly begin."

"Academy? We're at an academy?" asked Raffi.

"Why yes, where else would you be?" laughed Atticus. "Welcome, one and all, to The Stevenson Academy of Excellence– known throughout the magical world for its expertise in training young warlocks, witches, shapeshifters (and, now, dragons); as well as being known throughout the human world for being the most unattainable school in the world– considering that we only take in magical folk, and would NEVER accept a human... so we must be quite selective, as you might imagine. We must also keep our motives a secret from the outside world, as I'm afraid that mere humans are a bit unprepared to discover that we are a school training magical creatures and such, don't you think?"

"The Stevenson Academy of Excellence?" asked James with a puzzled look on his face. "Never heard of it."

"What? You honestly have never heard of us?"

James shook his head, prompting Atticus to glance around at the others in question.

"Wait... I think I may have heard of it...," Kay said. "Isn't it that really prestigious school in the southern part of Pennsylvania?"

"Precisely," Atticus nodded.

"Yeah, I think I've been past it before when we took a vacation to Indiana; it was on the way there..."

"Well, I am glad that at least _someone _knows where they are... nevertheless, welcome to you all. Now... I understand that you were all given no time to pack for your stay here, is this correct?"

A hush fell over the six, but after thinking it all over, they all began to nod. For it WAS true... they had nothing but the clothes on their back at that point.

"That is what I had figured. Not to worry, though– here at the academy, we have our very own convenience store, full of the latest clothing, amenities– you name it, we have it!"

"Wow, um... that's... convenient... I guess," Raffi said hesitantly, staring around idly at her new colleagues, and received glances back that seemed to say 'Well, let's go with it– even if it is a bit strange.'

"Really? I think so too," beamed Atticus. "Now, if you'll follow me, I will show you to your dormitories– where you'll be staying for a good while."

And so they departed, exiting through the very door through which they had entered, and followed Atticus up the grand staircase they'd traveled down earlier. Atticus led them up the entire staircase, and then rounded a corner and headed up the wooden staircase they had seen earlier– the one that connected the second and third floors.

Once they reached the third floor, they saw much of the same that they had viewed on the second floor– in fact, exactly the same, down to the same wallpaper.

As they all walked along the hallway to their rooms, Ash ran up alongside Atticus, "Um... excuse me, Mr. Stevenson, but I had a quick question..."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well, um... how exactly are our parents supposed to know where we went? They'll worry... and that's not good. What are we gonna do?"

"Ah, don't worry, Ashleigh– my people are working on it as we speak. All we are telling your parents is that you all are taking a few courses at our academy here... that you've been chosen, out of thousands of children across the United States, to take part in these courses, and that you'll be home soon enough. Now, of course, the parents who already know that their son or daughter is a dragon will likely question this, and in that case, we'll simply tell them everything– aside from the fact that you all will be saving the magical world."

"Hm. Well, good luck with that."

Atticus nodded in recognition, and then stopped. "Alright, here we are." He turned to the six of them. "We're a bit low on rooms right now, so we'll have all the boys in one room, and then two rooms for the girls. All the other rooms in the academy are occupied by regular students– although the majority of them are not here right now, as we're on a semester break– which should end at about the time that you all will be leaving the academy. Granted, you will still see a few students roaming the halls here... you may converse with them if need be, however, they have been given specific instructions to, for the most part, stay clear of you all."

"I believe that's it, then," Atticus rubbed his hands together in closure, "if you need anything, feel free to ask any of the staff. Have a nice stay!" He disappeared down the hall and into the stairwell.

Shade and James, gleeful with their being able to room with each other, ventured into their respective dormitory, while the four girls stood there, attempting to decide who would room with who.

"I'd like to room with Ash, if it's alright with the rest of you," Raffi said. "I mean... just because we go to school together and all..."

"Fine with me; I'll room with Kay," Laura nodded.

"And, um, me...," came a voice from inside the room Kay and Laura were about to enter.

"Wha... who's there?" asked Kay.

"It's... Kate, the girl that left earlier with that Warburton dude..." said Kate, stepping into the doorway.

"Oh... yeah, I almost forgot about you guys!" laughed Raffi.

"Wait... so that means Jay's back!" Laura's eyes lit up.

"Yeah... you might wanna give him a little more alone time right now," suggested Kate. "He's taking this whole 'dragon' thing kinda weird..."

"I'm sure... so you guys had no idea that you were dragons?" asked Ash.

Kate nodded. "No clue. I'm cool with it though... I guess. I mean, it definitely puts a whole new perspective on my life..."

Kay stuck out her arms and yawned, "Wow, I'm tired... can we move into our rooms yet? I really have some shut-eye catching up to do..."

"Sure, let's go," Laura said, seemingly disappointed that she was unable to speak with Jay at this point. The five girls each turned into their rooms, and went from there.

The boy's room was a bit boring, to say the least. James and Shade were on their lone couch, talking about their dragon powers, while Jay was knocked out on his bed.

In Laura, Kay, and Kate's room, it was more of the same– Kay had fallen asleep as soon as she hit the pillow on the bed she'd just chosen, Kate was on her bed staring up at the ceiling, while Laura was at their narrow window, staring around at the surrounding scenery. (Which will be explained more in detail in the future.)

Ash and Raffi's room, meanwhile, was a whole other story. It was quite lively in there, actually– probably the initial shock of finding out that they shared this common characteristic– their dragon powers. The two of them began talking about random stuff that had occurred that day as well, and a bit later, it drifted towards a more 'personal' topic.

"So, Raffi," grinned Ash with a sly look on her face, "how about it? What do you think about the other guys here?"

The question seemed to catch Raffi a bit off guard, but she finally stuttered out an answer, "Well... um, I dunno, I guess they're kinda cool..."

"Mmhmm...," Ash stared a hole through Raffi, as if she was trying to get her to spill something valuable, "and... what about that Shade guy... from our school?"

"Um... yeah, he's cool."

"Aw, c'mon, Raffi, that's all you can say?!" laughed Ash. "I KNOW there's something goin' on between you two... I saw that look you two gave each other before we left to find Atticus. You can't fool me!"

"Say... what?" Raffi exhibited a look on confusion. "You're crazy, Ash... we just looked at each other... I think you're reading a bit much into it. I mean... I don't really even know him!"

"Yeah, sure... whatever you say," Ash smiled triumphantly, averting her eyes away.

"Ash, I'm serious!"

"Shh... what's that?"

It was a static noise coming from inside the room. After locating the source of the sound, they realized it was coming from an intercom speaker above their door.

"Attention on the grounds: all dragon students, please report to the lobby. Thank you." It was a female voice– probably a secretary.

After awakening the sleeping students, the eight of them headed off together to the lobby... which Kay claimed she had seen when they came down the grand staircase on the right side of the room.

And she was right– there was the lobby: a mid-sized room with a couple tables and chairs, a computer, a telephone, and a large fireplace at the far end.

They all sat down, and were soon joined by Atticus Stevenson and his suited accomplices.

"Welcome again," Atticus greeted them, "I figured that you all would like to meet your trainer– he just flew in from New York City."

"Wait...," said James, "You mean YOU'RE not our trainer?"

Atticus chuckled softly, "Of course not. It wouldn't make much sense– I'm not a dragon, you know. I believe that a dragon should be trained by another dragon... and that is what we will do."

He turned toward outside the room. "You may come in now..."

And for a while, there came no response. But soon enough... a small wheelchair came scooting in slowly, with an equally small man inside. He was clothed from head to toe in a long blue robe, with gray hair and a long beard. It was apparent that his legs were paralyzed... but his upper body was still movable, as he was moving the wheelchair on his own.

"Children, I'd like to introduce your trainer... he is one of the only known survivors of the attack on Dragon Summit... Mr. Lao Shei."

END CHAPTER


	4. Chapter 4

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 1: The Surrogate Cavalry

Chapter 4: A Blossoming Adulation

Lao Shi.

None of the eight dragons knew this name– they had never even heard of him. However, given the evident prestige of Atticus Stevenson's academy, plus the old man's near-overwhelming presence when he entered the room, they determined that whoever he was, he must be important. He DID survive the Dragon Summit killings, after all– that counted for something, didn't it?

"Lao Shi," Atticus continued, "was once known better as the Chinese Dragon. When he became older, he and his family immigrated to the United States, where he had a daughter, who eventually had a son– Jake Long, the current American Dragon. Or... at least he WAS the American Dragon... but he happens to be among the many dragons that are still reportedly missing after the attack on the Isle of Draco. At the time, Lao was Mr. Long's Dragon Master– although that will obviously change."

"When I found that Mr. Shi was still among the living, I knew that he must come here. I had already, at this point, decided upon bringing the eight of you here to be trained, and I had the feeling that, in the long run, he would be very beneficial to you all."

Atticus paused and turned to Lao. "Well, I believe that this is all you need me for. Please speak to the students about whatever you wish– and carry out some training if you'd like." He handed the old man a small slip of paper. "Here are their names, and their known specific abilities. It should be of some use to you." And with that, he nodded, bowed to Lao Shi, and hurried out of the room.

After he left, the classmates and their teacher sat there in utter silence, no one saying a word to another... that is, until Lao Shi finally broke the silence.

"So... you are the children destined to save the magical world?" he spoke in a near whisper.

"That's what we've been told," said Shade.

"Very well, then. I suppose that if we plan on getting anything accomplished, we had better get started." He wheeled around and headed off towards the front door of the academy, saying not a word. However, it was evident that he wanted the kids to follow him– and they did, slightly reluctantly, yet without question.

When they stepped outside, they realized that this was, in effect, the first time they had been outside the academy. It was a bright, sunny day– yet it was also slightly cold; maybe about fifty degrees Fahrenheit.

Now, the front-outside area of the academy was, if you were expecting much, a bit disappointing. There was a paved black by the entrance of the school, which curved away and stretched off towards the horizon. Needless to say, it was a long road. The amount of greenery that spanned the area was immense. A grassy lawn sat in front of the academy, complete with a mid-sized, blue-water lake in its center. The lawn was extremely well-trimmed– near to perfection, as if it was maintained by some sort of magic. A lush, dense oak tree forest was visible in the distance– giving the students the impression that the academy was well-hidden, and that there was rarely a visitor that lumbered down that long road.

The eight of them continued to follow Lao, until he paused at the edge of the lawn. "Since I am unsure if my chair will be able to roll in the grass," he said, glancing down at the wheels of his chair, "I will observe from here. Now, all of you– please enter the lawn and form a line."

They all did so, without question. Lao Shi stared at each of them individually, seemingly sizing them up in his mind. After about a minute or so, he turned to Raffi, "Your name is Raffi, correct?"

"Why... yeah, it is," Raffi was astounded, as were the other seven. How did he know their names already? He had only glanced at the slip of paper Atticus had given him for a mere few seconds– no more than ten. How could he already identify them out of a crowd?

"Step forward, please."

In a slightly reluctant manner, Raffi did step forward. She crossed her arms nervously, wondering why she had been chosen. Was she some kind of example? What were Lao's motives?

Lao reached out his left arm and pointed to Shade. "Shade, I presume?"

Shade nodded, saying not a word. "Please join Raffi," Lao said. Shade stepped forward, joining Raffi by her side.

"Any idea of what we're doing?" he whispered to her.

"Not a clue."

"Do know that I can hear you," interrupted Lao Shi in a slightly perplexed tone. "My hearing may not be what it used to, but I am not deaf."

"Sorry," Shade's gaze lowered to the ground.

"Yeah, sorry," followed Raffi.

"Now," Lao began, "here is what I want you two to do. Face each other," he directed. And after they did so, he continued, "A piece of paper can only tell me so much. I would like to test your true abilities in battle."

"Wait... you want me to fight her?!" exclaimed Shade.

"First and foremost– do not speak while you are being spoken to by your Dragon Master, Shade," leered Lao. "Now, as for your question, let me begin by asking the eight of you a question of my own. Why are you here?"

Kay raised her hand.

"Yes, Kay?"

"We're here to save the magical world."

"Precisely. But let me ask you this, Kay– will you, as an individual, be doing this on your own?"

"Of course not! All eight of us are going to fight together, as a team!" said Kay.

"Exactly. Thank you, Kay," he then turned to the entire group, although it seemed that, most of all, he was addressing Shade. "Team. That is what you are. You will never have to fight a friend, because both of you are committed to the same overall cause. See," now he was speaking to Shade and Raffi, "why would I have you, Shade, fight Raffi, if she is in fact your partner, your teammate? What good would it do to train the eight of you to fight as individuals... when in all, there will rarely be a time when you are fighting alone? Am I understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Shi," they murmured in agreement.

"Please, call me Master Shi. Now... Raffi and Shade, listen carefully."

The old man wheeled himself a few feet away, to a pedestal on which sat a series of buttons. "You two shall work together– as a team– to face whatever it is that is your opponent. To the remaining six of you– observe carefully, for you all will be paired accordingly and will face similar challenges."

He turned his head back to Raffi and Shade. "Are you ready?"

Raffi nodded in confidence. Shade glanced over at her for a moment, and then nodded as well.

"So we begin," Lao pressed one of the buttons.

A nearby section of the lawn suddenly opened up, folding off to the sides. An elevator-like platform rose up from the pit, with a large, metallic figure atop it. Upon further examination, the students determined it to be a robot of some sort. It had sharp, claw-like hands connected to four long arms. Else, it had the appearance similar to that of a human.

It didn't seem too imposing to Raffi and Shade, nor to anyone else. They had, after all, defeated the robotic arms earlier that day with minimal effort. Why would this be any different?

The robot continued to stand there, motionless, which prompted James to turn to Lao and ask, "It isn't doing anything... is the robot defective or something?"

Lao Shi provided no answer. Instead, he merely put a finger to his mouth, signifying that James be quiet, and continued to eye the event with a sense of trepidation in his gaze.

Shade turned to Raffi. "Maybe we should... walk over to it or something..."

"Sure," agreed Raffi, her gaze not leaving their immobile opponent.

Slowly and cautiously, they walked toward the robot, until they were standing right next to it. Upon closer observation, they found that the robot was actually in a kneeling position. It also appeared to have eyes, although they were closed tightly.

Raffi grinned. "Hah, this is a joke! This thing isn't even turned on!" she laughed, patting the robot on its foot and turning to Shade.

Upon this action, the robot's eyes snapped open, revealing a pair of fluorescent, glowing green eyes. Shade saw all of this unfolding, yet he was in such a shock that he had frozen in place– unable to move or say anything.

Raffi saw his gaze, though– and his gaze told her that something was amiss. "Shade...," she whispered, "what's wrong?" From Shade, there came no answer.

"Raffi! Behind you!" Ash screamed from the rest of the group. They, too, had been watching this startling new revelation.

Raffi turned slowly... and stared up into the lifeless eyes of the once-thought-to-be-immobile robot.

Target acquired the robot spoke in a monotonous voice. Initiating flamethrower 

"Raffi!" yelled Lao Shi, attempting at one point to move from his wheelchair, but then realizing his predicament. "Get out of there!"

There was a whirring noise that was emitted by the robot– inferentially signifying the powering-up of the flamethrower. Suddenly, the whirring stopped. The robot opened its mouth, which was now glowing a deep orange.

Raffi shut her eyes tightly, bracing for impact, shutting out all the voices telling her to move. She wished she could... but just as Shade had been, she was frozen in shock. And for the longest time, she stood there, bracing herself for the worst. And then she felt something. But it wasn't pain. It felt like... wind. It was like wind rushing through her hair.

She slowly opened her eyes, and the image of the moving ground from high in the air filled her vision. She was flying! She felt a firm grip around her waist, and she looked down to see two blue, muscular arms around her– the arms of a dragon.

"...Shade?"

"It's alright, Raffi. I've got you," said Shade reassuringly.

Raffi let out a long, strained sigh, glad she was okay. She stared back up at Shade. He had saved her... from death... and somehow, it all felt... right, like this was the way it was supposed to be all along.

Shade soared through the air in a u-shape, as they began to descend back towards the academy. If ever the robot had used its flamethrower, it had ceased to do so now, as it merely stood there, awaiting its opponents' return.

"Raffi," Shade spoke again, "you're gonna need to change into your dragon form. I think we can take this thing out– but we'll have to do it together."

Raffi nodded in agreement. She concentrate on her dragon form, feeling the changes ripple across her body, and she opened her newly enhanced eyes to find herself just a few feet from the ground.

Shade, seeing that she was fully prepared for battle, released her from his grip, and the two of them flew headlong into the robot, knocking it to the ground. However, just as quickly as it had been seemingly knocked out of submission, the robot's metallic legs bent at what could be considered the kneecap, and the robot sprung back to its feet.

The two dragons hovered in the air nearby and turned toward each other. "Raffi, if this thing's like most robots, it could probably be taken out pretty easily with an open flame. Go on ahead and see if you can stop it there. I'll be right behind you," instructed Shade.

Raffi posed no resistance to the proposition, and sped through the air toward their opponent once more, Shade in tow. She reared back, and sent a large ball of orange fire directly at the robot's head. It impacted quickly and rapidly, knocking the robot back a few feet. However, despite the contact, their opponent did not seem phased. In fact... it seemed as if it had actually absorbed Raffi's blow and added it to its own energy.

"Whoa, not good," Raffi commented as she flew past the robot. She soared a few feet higher, and paused to wait for Shade. "Fire isn't gonna work," she sighed as soon as Shade reached er.

"So I noticed," muttered Shade, turning his gaze to the awaiting robot.

"Well... any ideas?"

Shade nodded. "I do have one. But you're gonna have to trust me on this."

"Okay... what is it?" she asked.

"We're gonna go stand right in front of it."

Raffi was silent for a few moments. "Wait... why would we do that?" she finally spoke. "We'd be killed!"

"What, you don't trust me?" Shade flashed a grin.

"I'd trust you if this didn't seem so reckless."

"Fine," Shade turned away. "I'm going in there. Whether you want to come or not is up to you." He flew to the ground, and walked over to the robot.

Raffi sighed heavily. "If he really knows what he's doing... I guess I can believe him." She joined him by the robot.

Soon, they were both standing directly in front of the metallic monster. Upon noticing them, the robot's mouth opened once more.

Targets acquired it spoke again. Flamethrower initiated 

"Shade..."

"Wait for it...," said Shade, his eyes transfixed upon the robot– predominately its mouth, which had begun to glow a deep red.

"Shade!" Raffi winced.

"Almost there..."

Flamethrower fully charged. Flamethrower engaged 

At these words, Shade threw upon his mouth and unleashed a flowing stream of ice. The ice shot inside the robot's mouth, and seemed to put out he glowing red color that was emitted. Shade didn't stop there, however, as he transferred the ice to the other parts of the robot's structure. Within seconds, it had been covered with an entire sheet of blue ice– rendering it immobile where it stood, defeated.

Shade let out a long sigh of triumph. He reverted back to his human form, and turned around to Raffi, who had already done the same. She walked quickly over to him. "You did it!" she laughed, a huge grin spread across her face. Upon reaching him, they both hugged– and were caught up in this embrace for what seemed like an eternity. But they pulled away quickly thereafter, after realizing what they had just done.

"No, Raffi," Shade said, his face flushed red with what appeared to be slight embarrassment. "We did it."

"Well, actually...," started Raffi, "I didn't do anything. You're the one that brought the thing down in the end..."

"True, but if you hadn't tried fire on it, I never would've thought of using ice..."

"So you're saying that because I screwed up, we beat it?"

"I could say that," he gave her a playful nudge on the shoulder.

"You're mean!" Raffi laughed. She turned away and ran back to the rest of their classmates, who were cheering and waving back by the school. Even Lao Shi had broken into a subtle applause, a sense of fulfillment covering his face.

"You two were awesome!" Kay greeted them as soon as they had both reached the group.

"And did you guys see Shade save Raffi?!?" said Ash. "Wasn't that sooooooo cute?!"

"Ash!" yelled Raffi.

"Wasn't me," Ash muttered, her head down and finger pointed to James, who promptly smacked her lightly on the back of the head.

"Raffi and Shade... please come here," Lao Shi motioned. Everyone became quiet as Raffi and Shade walked over to their teacher.

"Well done," he nodded to the both of them. He then spoke to Shade. "That was very reckless of you, don't you think?"

"Master Shi, with all due respect, I knew what I was doing," grinned Shade. "As soon as that thing was fully powered up, I was gonna, you know, cool it off a bit."

"...I was talking about saving Raffi."

"Oh yeah," Shade blushed. "That."

"And while it was quite reckless and could've cost both of you your lives," Lao said, "it was one of the most unselfish and brave actions you could've taken. And for that, I am sure that Raffi is eternally grateful."

Shade's eyes darted to his side to see Raffi nodding slightly.

"You both did very well," he continued, "and now I am sure you would appreciate some rest. Please, have a seat with the rest of us as we view the next duo face their enemy."

They both did sit down– although Shade went off with James and Raffi with Ash. "Now then," said Lao Shi, staring around at the other six, "who shall we have go next?"

Each and every one of those that still had to go averted their eyes from the old man's gaze. Kay even began to whistle.

"Ah, so I see," said Lao. "Hm... well, since the thought of this has been intriguing me for a good while now, I would like for Kate and Jay to go next."

This came as a bit of a surprise to the eight, including Jay and Kate themselves. Everyone had figured that they would not participate in the training just yet– especially considering that both of them had never even been in their dragon forms, let alone fought in them. Surely he wasn't serious.

It soon became apparent, however, that Lao Shi had meant what he had said. And thus, the two newest participants stepped forward. Kate seemed to be in a decent mood; she was apparently over the initial shock of finding out about her dragon powers. On the other hand, Jay still seemed rather far away– as if he was in more of an apathetic sort of state. He had been this way ever since Warburton had taken him into the other room to explain to him the circumstances by which they were at the academy.

"I understand that neither of you have ever used your dragon powers, is this correct?" asked Lao.

"Yeah... actually, we didn't even know we had them until today...," Kate said with a slight laugh. Jay nodded in agreement.

"We will make this training a bit easier, then," Lao stated. He once again wheeled over to the control pedestal. Upon pressing a different button, a few red and white bullseye targets rose from the ground near where the robot that Raffi and Shade had fought with earlier had stood. He turned back to Jay and Kate. "I take it that you will require help in becoming your dragon selves?"

"That would be helpful," said Kate.

"Very well– this should not be too difficult," he moved back over to them. "The key is, when it is your first time, to cut off all other distractions and visualize yourself as a dragon. It will obviously take some imagination– considering that you do not know the look of your dragon form. It should work, though– as it should tap into your power and release it... although it requires immense concentration during your first time. It will become easier the more you utilize your powers. Now, focus."

Kate and Jay nodded, and both closed their eyes. "Concentrate," Jay whispered. "Hm, easy for him to say."

"Shh," shushed Kate.

Jay felt a tingling sensation all over his body, and there was suddenly a warm feeling to it. His eyes snapped open, and the sensation dulled.

"Do not break your concentration," Lao said. "It will never work if you do not concentrate fully."

Jay sighed and stared over at Kate. She seemed... relaxed. Not a part of her body moved. Then, all of a sudden, she began to glow a dark green. Thick vines shot from her fingertips, spreading and covering every inch of her body. Once the vines were done spreading, they snapped off, as if by some kind of tremendous force. And when the vines fell away, they revealed a plant-green dragon, roughly seven feet tall. It was, with the exception of the color, a mirror image of the other dragons.

"I did it!" Kate exclaimed, looking her changed self over. "This feels... awesome!"

"...interesting," said Lao Shi, as he closely examined Kate's dragon form.

"What is it?" she asked, confused.

"A dragon of your sort... is quite rare," he explained. "In fact, I have actually met only one other in my life– former Councillor Oslo, of the Dragon Council. If only he were still alive... perhaps I would know more about your... sort..."

"I don't get it," said Kate. "What's so special about me?"

"Well," Lao Shi's awed gaze lowered to the ground, as he seemed to try and find the right words to say, "you, as I'm sure you've gathered, are not like the other dragons here. Most of the world's dragon population have predominantly two types of elemental abilities– fire and ice. A smaller portion has power over electricity. But your power– yours is extremely rare. In fact, only one in every ten thousand dragons have the power you have."

"To put it quite simply, Kate, you have the power over the earth," he said.

"The earth?"

"Yes, the earth. You have control of all that makes it up. Nature. From the plants to the dirt ground. And with this power comes an even greater amenity."

"What's that?" asked Kate, a wide smile spread across her face.

"The ability to heal yourself and those around you. It is an amazing power– and is something that near-to-all magical creatures long for," he paused, and then said, "You are very fortunate, Kate."

"Well, thank you... I think."

"It will be a bit difficult, though, as I have never trained someone of your stature. I pray you provide me with your patience in the coming days, and I am sure that, in the near future, you will be able to harness and utilize your powers to the best of your ability."

Lao turned to Jay. "Now, let us evaluate your dragon form. I am sure you can do it– Kate was able to, after all. Just concentrate and you will have no problem."

Jay nodded. "Concentrate... right...," he closed his eyes, attempting to shut out everything. In his mind, he pictured... well, he pictured Kate's dragon form, actually. He was obviously quite certain that he would not look anything like Kate– especially after hearing Lao Shi's speech about the irregularity of Kate's power.

After a few seconds, the warm, tingling feeling that he had felt earlier resurfaced. This time, however, Kay was not caught off guard, and thus was able to maintain his concentration. The tingling suddenly grew extremely esoteric in feeling. He had the sudden urge to look himself over and figure out what was happening with him. He fought this, though, as he predicted that his teacher would likely be a bit irritated with him if he broke his concentration once more. And so he stayed there, motionless– even after the warm sensation had long since dulled.

"Jay, you may open your eyes now– it is over...," came Lao Shi's voice.

Jay's eyes fluttered open. He felt... strange, like he was still himself, yet he wasn't. He stared down at himself... in an expression that soon changed to excitement and awe.

The initial change he noticed was his height. Jay was normally a tall boy– probably around 6"1. However, in his new height, he towered over the ground at about a half a foot more. His body was near-entirely red, with the exception of his underbelly, which happened to be white. He also noticed the orthodox features– the claws, the tail, and most of all, the wings.

"Very good!" Lao Shi congratulated him.

"Thanks...," said Jay, still in awe of himself.

"Judging by your color, I believe your elemental power is fire," inferred Lao. "Now, Jay and Kate, face me."

The two newest dragons both did so. Lao, after taking a few moments to collect his thoughts, said, "Now then, I am sure that you know your objective." He turned to the lawn once more, which was now full of the red and white bullseyes. "Take out the targets in any way you can. Since this is the first time you will be utilizing your powers, I have altered the settings on this session in order to make it virtually impossible to be injured, or for there to be other distractions. Simply hit the bullseye targets– either by forve or by your other abilities. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Kate. Jay mouthed the word 'yes,' signifying that he, too, was ready.

"Go then," said Lao.

At first, both of the novice dragons went about this on foot– as if they had forgotten that they now had wings. Jay seemed to be the first to remember this, though, as he paused, and then beat his red wings four times. He slowly began to rise into the air, but was only able to reach about five feet up, at which point he merely hovered, unable to move anywhere else. Disheartened, he touched back onto the ground. He looked over to see Kate lowering herself as well. She had experienced the same problem.

"Well...," Jay sighed.

"Wanna try a running start?" suggested Kate.

Jay laughed and nodded. "Couldn't hurt... I hope."

And so they began to run– Jay a bit faster than Kate, although she was still able to keep a respectable pace. "We'll jump on the count of three," Kate said. "When we're airborne, start beating your wings as fast as you can. It'll hopefully give us enough momentum to stay in flight. Ready?"

"Ready," stated Jay, unwavering.

"One... two... three!"

They both leapt into the air and began their attempt to fly. At first they, once again, began to lower to the ground. But after this initial discouragement, and upon a bit more determination, they soon began to rise again. Soon enough, both of them were soaring through the air– not as gracefully as the more experienced dragons had done, but it was well enough to keep them airborne.

"Good!" Lao Shi called from the edge of the lawn. "Now, each of you– choose a separate bullseye and take it out any way you can without using any special abilities!"

It seemed that Jay and Kate were trying to avoid the ground targets so as to preserve their flight, and thus they both chose elevated targets– one that had risen on a long pole from which Shade and Raffi's robot opponent had stood, and another that was perched on a branch of a nearby tree. Kate had chosen the target on the tree, while Jay chose the remaining one.

"Alright," whispered Jay to himself, "Master Shi said that my element was fire... well, that would explain the warm sensation I felt. But... if I'm not allowed to use it right now, then what can I do?" He stared down at his claws, and then an idea popped into his head. "These things seem pretty sharp... I'm sure they could cut these targets. It'll be like an axe cutting through wood."

And so he tried it, slashing his right claw against the wooden surface of the bullseye. The target splintered upon impact, and fell off the pole and onto the ground. Jay pumped his arm in triumph. "Man... these things ARE sharp..."

Meanwhile, Kate was hovering directly in front of the tree that held the other target. "The easy thing to do," she thought out loud, "would probably be to use my claws like Jay did. But I already know that works. I'll bet it'll impress Master Shi more if I could figure out another way." She examined herself over, and fixed her eyes on her twitching tail. "And I know exactly what to use."

Kate raised her spiked tail so that it was directly above her head. She swung her tail quickly, almost like cracking a whip, and smashed the bullseye in. Kate was astounded. "Wow, this thing is probably stronger than the rest of my body– and I think that's saying a lot!"

"Jay and Kate," called Lao Shi, "you did well. Now, this time, use your dragon abilities on the ground targets. This may prove to be a more difficult task than the last, but I am confident that both of you shall be able to handle it."

Jay and Kate both nodded, and flew down to two bullseyes that sat on the lawn side by side. "So...," started Jay, "I guess I just... breathe fire on it or something?"

"Yeah... and I'm supposed to... do something involving nature," said a thoroughly confused Kate. She knew from Lao that she had power over the earth. But how did she use it? Lao had only told her that she had the power– she wasn't sure how to actually use it. It was the same way with Jay, although he had a better idea of what to do.

He began to concentrate once more, attempting to search deep within the far reaches of his conscience for the fire-breathing ability. Then he, all of a sudden, found what he believed to be this power. He thought this because he had begun to feel that familiar warm sensation once more. "Alright," he said, with a hint of uncertainty, "here's goes nothing!" He threw his head back, and shot a ball of flame at the target. The fireball was roughly the size of a watermelon– not as large as, say, an experienced dragon's fireball. However, it was still enough. Upon impact, the target was engulfed in a bright orange flame. Still burning, it fell off the pole and to the ground.

"Easy," laughed Jay, impressed and content with his newfound ability.

"Makes me wish I had your power," Kate said with a half-hearted smile.

"Shoot, Kate... I'm sure your power– whatever it is– is ten times better than mine..."

"Even if it supposedly is, I still don't know how to use it...," sighed Kate.

"Well... just do what I did! Search inside yourself for your power. You'll know it when you find it, believe me. It'll feel... different. It'll be same sensation you experienced when you first became a dragon," Jay explained.

"Wow, Jay... you sure do know a lot about this..."

"Hm? Oh yeah, well... I mean, think about it– what you're about to do I just did myself– I should now, shouldn't I?"

"Ah... yeah, guess you're right...," she turned away, and focused on her target. She relapsed once more into the near-familiar state of concentration and relaxation, searching herself for the power.

She found it rather quickly– more so than Jay did, that is. She felt, like Jay had said she would, a similar sensation to the one she'd felt earlier on in the day. Without any sort of hesitance, she decided to activate it– whatever it was.

From her fingertips shot the same vines that had covered her when she first became a dragon. She grabbed the vines with her claws, and swung them like a whip. The vines made contact with the bullseye target, splintering the wood just as she had done with her tail earlier. The vines then retracted back into her fingertips just as quickly as they had appeared.

Kate sighed, and turned to see Jay looking on in awe. "Wow... that's a pretty awesome power..." he said.

"Thanks," acknowledged Kate, smiling at her fascinating accomplishment. Both of them, satisfied with their seemingly harnessed abilities, strode off together to meet back up with Lao Shi, who also had a satisfied look on his face.

"I am impressed with the progress the two of you have made today," he greeted them. "So, considering that you seemed to complete these tasks with relative ease, we shall try something a bit more difficult at training tomorrow."

"Sounds good," said Kate. "We'll take anything you throw at us."

Lao nodded, and then turned so that he faced the entire group. "Unfortunately, it looks as if we are out of time for today. Should you have arrived at the academy at an earlier time, we may have been able to allow everyone a chance. But it is getting late, and evenings at the academy are, as I've been told by Atticus, are reserved for students' free time, with the occasional night class. So, I shall leave the eight of you to that– we will pick up where we left off tomorrow morning at ten. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Master Shi," they said in unison.

"Very good. You are dismissed."

With these words, the students departed, heading for the academy's front doors. Within their group, there was talk of the day's activities and happenings– mostly centered around either Shade's act of heroism in saving Raffi, of Jay and Kate's first time using their powers, and even of Lao Shi's peculiar reaction to the discovering of Kate's power.

When they stepped inside the academy, they were met at the foor of the grand staircase by Atticus Stevenson. "Ah, children, welcome back," he greeted them warmly. "I trust that you all learned some valuable lessons from Master Shi?"

"Yes sir, we did," replied Shade.

"Good, then. As I'm sure he's told you already, you all will meet with him again at ten tomorrow morning, at the very same spot," he said. "Now, for the remainder of the evening– as it is custom with most evenings at the academy– you have your free time. During this time, most of the amenities around the academy are available for use. What those amenities are, I'd suggest you find out for yourselves. I'd recommend exploring the grounds tonight– become familiar with your surroundings, as you will likely be here for a good while. I ask, however, that you keep out of the specifically marked rooms– the ones that read 'Staff Only.' While there may be times that you will be permitted to enter these rooms, they are off-limits at this point in time. Curfew is at midnight. You are all expected to be in your rooms at this point. There is no set time for light-out in your rooms, however, given that your schedules can become a bit hectic at times, I would suggest getting as much sleep as possible."

He stared around at all of them. "Are there any questions?" The students all shook their heads.

"Splendid. Now, one last thing– we were able to make contact with each and every one of your parents or legal guardians and inform them of your situation– those of you whose parents already knew you were all dragons were told the honest truth, while those who did not know were told that you were at a prep school for excellent students. They all have agreed, and they all will be sending some of your belongings to the school, such as clothes, in the coming days. A few have insisted upon coming to the academy to drop these items off, while others have said that they will simply send them via airmail. Either way, you should all have your personal belongings here in a day or two. If you cannot wait that long, do recall that we have a convenience store in the east wing of the school, so you may stop there if you so desire."

He clasped his hands together. "Well, I believe that is all I have to tell you all. Please make yourselves at home here, and should I not see your during the remainder of the day, I will then see you all in the morning." And with that, Atticus turned and left, leaving the eight kids to ponder their next actions.

There came a prolonged silence soon afterward. James met this awkward pause with a long stretch, followed by a yawn. "I'm tired. Got no sleep last night. I think I'll just pass on the whole 'exploring the school' thing. I'll see you guys in the morning." He started up the stairs to his dorm room.

"Sleep does sound kinda good...," Kate said. "Later, everyone." She followed James up the stairs.

"Well, I guess that leaves the six of us," Ash stated, turning to the remnants of the group. "So... where should we go?"

"Hm... well, I dunno about the rest of you," said Shade, "but I'm hungry. There's gotta be a cafeteria or something around here..."

"There's another hallway over there...," Kay pointed out. "It'd probably be a good idea to go check it out."

They nodded together in agreement, and the six of them set out down this previously undiscovered corridor, in hopes of finding the cafeteria and other such places.

Kay and Shade led the way, attempting to navigate through the academy by means of using a few of the directional arrows that were implanted across the grounds. Ash and Raffi followed, Ash talking to Raffi about sporadically different topics– even though, it appeared, Raffi did not seem to be paying much attention to her. Her eyes, instead, seemed transfixed ahead of her– her mind teeming with thoughts of Shade. Despite the overall outcome of Shade and Raffi's battle with the robot, and the fact that she had indirectly contributed decently to the eventual defeat of this opponent, she still felt as if she had, really, done nothing– she had, instead, left herself vulnerable to attack and had almost got herself killed. If it hadn't been for Shade...

And then there was Jay and Laura in the back of this group, hands clasped together as they walked along sleepily. This had been, in reality, the first time that the two lovers had been able to be with each other since they arrived at the academy, and while they wanted to take this in as best as they could– although they both were so worn out from the day's activities that they could barely speak a word to one another.

Finally, after a good deal of traveling along these narrow corridors that frequented the academy, the six of them finally began to pass some of the amenities that Atticus had mentioned. There was a pool that was half the size of an Olympic-sized one, with an adjacent weight room. Further along sat the convenience store Atticus had spoken of, and then, finally, the cafeteria.

There was not very many people in the cafeteria at this point in time– mostly because, they inferred, the students were on their semester breaks and thus only a few were in the school anyway. There were about 20 circular tables in the cafeteria, each equipped with eight seats. On the far side of the room, there was a large bar-like spot, which was, in effect, where they were to order. Upon seeing this spot, Shade walked briskly over to the bar, while the other five stayed back, waiting for him to return. He did return a few moments later, holding a small silver package. "Ah, Pop Tarts...," he said, "Best food ever created."

"I'd disagree with you," said Kay, "but frankly, I'm too tired to. Let's go back and crash in the rooms for a while... we've still got five hours before curfew, so we can come back later if we want..."

There came a murmur of agreement from everyone else (all except Shade, who was as content as he'd ever be with his newfound source of calories), and they all began to head back to the dorms.

In about five minutes, they had reached their sleeping quarters. "We'll come over and tell you guys if we end up doing anything," said Kay as she opened up the door to her room. Laura, after exchanging a quick kiss with Jay, slid through the open door, and Ash opened the door to her and Raffi's dorm. She stepped inside as well, leaving just Jay, Shade, Raffi, and Kay outside in the hallway.

"Alright, sounds good," Shade said, nodding to Kay. Nodding back, she, too, stepped inside her room. Jay, bidding everyone good-night, opened the door to the boys' dorm room, where James was already passed out on his bed.

Shade was about to retire to his room, when he was stopped by a voice from behind him. "Um... Shade?"

Shade turned around. It was Raffi. "Hey, Raffi... what's up?"

"Well...," Raffi's gaze lowered to the ground, "I just... kinda wanted to... thank you for saving my life..."

Shade took a step closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Raffi, you don't need to thank me– really. I'm sure you would've done the same thing for me..."

"But that's just it," said Raffi. "I'm not sure if I would've... I guess I'm just not as... brave as you are."

"Well, Raffi... people can do great things in tight situations– things they never knew they could do. Don't doubt yourself; like I said, I'm positive you would've done the same thing for me."

"...Shade," Raffi said, her eyes finally meeting Shade's, her gaze intertwined with his, "Thank you."

There was a silence that followed, as the two stood there, each trying to find the words to say. Soon, though, Shade finally said. "Well, I should get to bed... good night." He took his hands off of her shoulders, and walked inside his room, closing the door gently behind him.

"Yeah... good night,"whispered Raffi. She, too, stepped inside her dorm.

And then, the corridor was silent.

END CHAPTER


	5. Chapter 5

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 1: The Surrogate Cavalry

Chapter 5: A Tentative Delay

The boy, upon awakening, did not know where he was. He did notice that it was pitch black– a never-ending dark abyss that stretched as far as the eye could see. This frightened him slightly, but he then paused, concentrated, and formed a small flickering flame– enough to light the room ever-so-slightly. He blinked, his head throbbing rhythmically, feeling as if it had been beat upon by some blunt object.

He moaned, rising to his full height. He stared around at his surroundings, noticing nothing except for the fact that he seemed to be inside a small room of sorts. There was what appeared to be a single door a few paces ahead of him, but even with the light, he couldn't be quite sure.

A sharp pain went spearing through his conscience, causing him to cry out and clutch at his head. Once it had subsided slightly, he began an attempt to recall how he had gotten there in the first place. But when he tried, there was nothing. It was almost as if there was a gaping chasm in his memory– he remembered only up to the attacks on Dragon Summit.

The attacks! Of course! He remembered the explosion, and then the panic it had caused. But he and around fifteen others had been underground at that point, so the blast had not affected them. Still, they all had tried to venture outside, to see what was going on– whether or not they would be facing the cold expression of death when they finally reached the outdoors area of the Isle of Draco. But then... that's all he recalled. Everything after that up to his waking up just a few moments prior was completely blank.

The boy groaned. How long had he been unconscious? It could've been days– and where were his accomplices? Were they like him?– shut up in a dark room with no idea where they were?

He had begun to set out towards the nearby door, in hopes of obtaining a better idea of where he was. However, before he was able to even reach for the door handle, the door itself was thrown open, and a dark shadow-like figure appeared in the doorway, a dim light illuminating it slightly from outside the room.

The boy could not see the figure clearly– he could merely notice its height and its large, seemingly-muscular structure. "What? Who's there? Where am I?" the boy demanded, staring at the shadow-like being.

There came no immediate answer from the figure– instead, a crackling, static-like sound was heard. The boy inferred that it was some sort of communication device– a walkie-talkie, such as a policeman might use.

"Marcus, what's your status?" came a weathered, decidedly male voice amidst the static.

"Oh, nothing," spoke the figure in a plain masculine voice. "One of our captives has awakened."

"Which one?"

"The long boy. Jake."

"Ah, I see. Well now, I trust that you will take care of this without difficulty?" The man who had first addressed the figure said in confidence through the walkie-talkie.

The man, Marcus, chuckled sinisterly. "Don't think anything of it, sir." There was a clicking noise– likely Marcus switching off the walkie-talkie.

"I don't know who you think you are," the boy said, "but you guys have chosen the wrong dude to mess with. Dragon– UP!"

He had expected to, at these words, change into his dragon form, and take out this man on his way to freedom. However, after a few moments of nothing, it became apparent that, for whatever reason, this power that the boy possessed had been rendered dormant.

The man chuckled again. "Fascinating, isn't it? This room is specially designed to hinder all latent abilities you might have– in your case, your ability to become your dragon self. You will need to do much more than that to escape from this place."

"But... what is this place...?" the boy asked, bemused.

"Mr. Long, you are being held captive inside the headquarters of the most powerful organization in the world– the Reich," said the man. "I would tell you more, but my leader has given me specific instructions to keep ALL of you unconscious, so as to prevent you from escaping..."

"ALL of us? You mean, the other dragons are being held captive too? What kind of sick prison are you guys running here?! And why am I a part of it?!"

The man provided no answer. He, instead, ran his left hand along the wall of the room, paused, and apparently pressed a button that was fixed there. Upon this, a misty gas was emitted from the room's ceiling, slowly filling the room to its full volume.

The boy began to feel drowsy, his eyelids feeling equivalent to large weights. He glanced over at the doorway, to see that the man had since left the room, closing the door behind him. "No," he gasped, falling to his knees, and soon after onto his stomach, as the gas filled his lungs. His head made sharp contact with the ground, which knocked him out cold before the sleeping gas could even take its entire toll on his conscious.

The man grinned outside of the room. He pulled a white hood over his neatly-combed brown hair, a hood that matched the snow-white robe that covered him from head to toe. "Sleep tight, American Dragon...," he said malevolently, and made his way down a long, white-walled hallway with little illumination– where he was going, no one could be certain.

(End)

The eight's first night spent in the Stevenson Academy of Excellence was actually quite uneventful, to say the least. The boys' room was as quiet as could be– Shade and Jay were, after all, decently exhausted from their encounters with Lao Shi's training program (Shade was a bit more tired, considering he did a lot more fighting), and James had basically been knocked out since seven. The girls' rooms were slightly more active, but were still remotely quiet. Kate was as James was– conked out on her bed in the far corner, while Laura and Kay had talked for a few minutes before they, too, retired to bed. It was Ash and Raffi's room that was slightly more full of sound. This was particularly amusing, considering that it was Ash that was doing most of the talking. And, being the "hopeless romantic" that she claimed to be, much of Ash's conversations began with either the words "Raffi", "Shade", or the two names put together. For some odd reason, it would appear that, on the outside, Ash was the student at the school that seemed more impetuous and relentless at this possibly surreptitious adulation– even though Raffi would have no part of it, and denied everything that Ash would say. Ash claimed that she had a sort of 'sixth sense' with this sort of thing– discovering the secret and unspoken, yet near-evident relationship that was supposedly blossoming between the two schoolmates. And the more and more she would torture Raffi with these accusations, that "she was secretly in love with Shade" and "the two of them should get together", the less Raffi fought it. Perhaps, she thought, Ash would cease this if she decided to just kind of go along with what Ash said. Or perhaps it was that Raffi, as Ash had hinted, really DID like Shade– she just didn't know how exactly to tell him. Maybe she was afraid of rejection– especially if it turned out that Shade did not feel the same way. There, however, was no real way to tell at that point, as Raffi was the only person that truly knew which of these it was.

The next morning, they all woke up gradually– Kate and James a bit earlier, considering that they had gone to bed earlier. By about nine, everyone was awake, had showered, and were ready to go down to breakfast and, later on, their next session of training with Lao Shi. They all met outside of their rooms, and set off towards the cafeteria. The group was, for the most part, in a large mass of six, as everyone finally seemed to be venturing out of their comfort zones and were talking to those that they hadn't known prior to coming to the academy. Ash and Raffi hung back, following groggily, with their eyes half closed.

James stared back at them. "What's the matter, you two? Didn't get enough sleep last night?"

Raffi scowled and pointed an accusing finger at Ash. "Her fault. She wouldn't shut up all night..."

"No one says you had to listen to me...," said Ash sleepily.

"I didn't really have a choice," Raffi sighed.

"Well... just try and make sure it doesn't affect your performance at training," Shade said. "Maybe breakfast is just the thing you need..."

Ash and Raffi nodded in agreement, and the group continued towards the cafeteria, walking briskly until they finally did reach it. The cafeteria itself was slightly more crowded than it had been the night before, as a few of the tables were occupied by other kids about their age– likely, they inferred, the students of the academy that had chosen not to go home over their semester breaks, and thus were walled up inside the school's boundaries for a few weeks.

Shade was the first to make his way over to the counter from which they ordered, as he had done the same the previous night. The other seven followed him, scanning over the menu that was suspended above the counter, trying to determine what they would want.

Soon, after they all had received their breakfast, they made their way over to a vacant table. Upon sitting down, Kay immediately yelled over at Shade. "Hey, Shade... remember when you had said that pop tarts are the best food ever created, and I said I would disagree with you, but I was too tired?"

"Yeah...," replied Shade, looking up from the two packs of pop tarts he had sitting in front of him.

"Well, I've decided to let you know that I'm NOT too tired now, and that coffee cake happens to be the best food ever."

Shade eyed Kay's breakfast, which consisted of two pieces of coffee cake and a cup of coffee. "How can you drink coffee with that stuff?! Do you WANT a caffeine overload?"

"Of course I do!" Kay smiled. "It's the only thing that gets me through the day!"

"Wow... I'm gonna try and stay as far away as possible from you in about fifteen minutes," Laura called from the other side of the table.

The entire table laughed, and then all focused on their respective breakfasts. They ate in silence for about five minutes, until a dark-haired boy of about their age walked over to them. "Hey, um... is this seat taken?" he asked Kay, who was seated at the end of the group, with a seat left vacant next to her.

"Well... um...," Kay stared up at the boy, almost stuttering, but with no understandable words coming out of her mouth.

"No... it isn't taken; you can sit down," Ash spoke for her, wearing a sly, scheming smile on her face.

"Thanks...," the boy sat down next to Kay, setting down a carton of orange juice and a bagel. "So...," he turned to Kay and Ash, "you guys are those dragons that Atticus told us about, right? The ones that are supposed to fight the Reich..."

"Yeah, that's us...," said Kay, finally able to speak.

"Wow... you guys must be pretty strong, then... I'm Will... Will Brownell."

"Hi... I'm Kay... and this is Ash..."

"Awesome. So, Kay... how long are you guys gonna be here at the academy?" asked Will.

"I dunno...," whispered Kay.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we don't really know how long we'll be," Ash said. "All we know is that we're being trained to fight the Reich... and at the rate we're going, I don't think we'll be leaving anytime soon..."

"Ah, I see. You guys probably have training in a bit then, don't you?" he said to Kay.

She nodded. "Yeah, at ten."

"Alright then," said Will, crumpling his carton in his hand and standing up. "Do you think you'll be coming back here for lunch?"

"Probably..." said Kay. "Do you think we might see you then?"

"Count on it," Will smiled. "See you later..." He walked away to a group of guys standing near the doorway to the cafeteria. One of them seemed to make some kind of good-natured remark to Will as he reached them, and they all laughed as they left the room.

As soon as he was completely out of sight, Ash chuckled and turned to Kay, saying, "Is it just me, or was he totally into you?"

"What?! No... you think so?" said Kay, her face flushed red.

"C'mon, Kay, I KNOW so... did I ever tell you how I got Raffi and Shade together?"

"Wait... Raffi and Shade are a couple?!" asked a surprised Kay.

"Well... no, not yet," admitted Ash. "But under my guidance, they will, just watch..."

"You know that you're hopeless, Ash... right?" James leaned over so that he was nearer to the two girls.

"James, I don't even wanna hear it... I mean, I'm sorry that there's no one around here that's interested in you..." sneered Ash.

James clasped at his chest sarcastically, as if shot by an invisible arrow. "Ow, you got me...," he joked. "But on that account... hey, speak for yourself."

"Hah! You doubt me?! I'll bet there's all kinds of guys here that would give anything for me to like them..."

"Really, now?" grinned James. "Name one..."

"Well... I..."

But before Ash could come up with any kind of answer, Shade stood up at the end of the table. "If everyone's done, then I'd suggest we get to training... I'm sure Master Shi wouldn't appreciate us being late..."

The other eight nodded in agreement, and they all arose and, after depositing their breakfast's remains in the nearby trash bins, and then headed out of the cafeteria's doors and off towards the front door of the academy, which led them outside to the front lawn of the academy. The bright sun's warm rays shone down upon them as soon as they exited the building– which felt great, as compared to the slightly chilling atmosphere of the cafeteria from which they had just left. The lawn was covered in mid-morning dew, and the trees and sky were alive with the chirping and fluttering of a variety of birds that were, as Kay explained, native to the area. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which was the opposite of the previous day, where the surplus of clouds had made the air outside feel a bit morose.

Out by the lawn, in the exact spot they had met the previous day, was Lao Shi. As they walked up, he nodded to them in recognition of their arrival, and then spoke first. "Good morning, students. I trust that you had an enjoyable first night and have obtained enough rest for our training today..."

"Yes, Master Shi. Well... most of us did," Shade spoke for the group, glancing over at Ash and Raffi, who both averted their gazes to the ground in slight embarrassment..

"That is good to hear. Now, as I said yesterday, we shall now begin a continuation of the training we carried out before. However, since there is still much to do and limited time to do it in, I would like at this time for the remaining four students that have not participated yet– if I'm not mistaken, this would include Laura, Ashleigh, James, and Kay." Lao Shi motioned for the four he had just named to step forward. And they all did so– slightly reluctantly, however, as they had recalled Raffi and Shade's engagement with the fire-breathing robot from the day before. Would their training be as intense, as difficult? They sure did hope not, but it was all in Master Shi's hands at this point.

"Dragon forms, please," Lao Shi instructed, hinting that he wanted them to be ready for whatever he chose to be their opponent.

Quickly and amenable, all four of them morphed into their compelling alter egos, ready for the subtle enemy that they would soon face. Lao Shi once more wheeled his chair over to the control pedestal nearby, and then called over to them in as loud of a voice as he could muster. "Are you all ready, then?"

All four of them nodded in sync, signifying that they were all prepared. Some were getting the first real look at the others' dragon forms– especially considering that, under the last circumstances in which they used them, it was difficult to get a good view of them, as they had been instead fighting for their lives. Everyone seemed to be most intrigued, it seemed, by James's form, which was quite similar to that of the Dark Dragon's– a dragon they had been taught to fight. Still, they decided to ignore this at this point, and looked back at Lao Shi.

"Alright," Lao Shi began to explain their task, "in the last meeting we had, I spoke to you all on the importance of teamwork. Now, quick question– what comprises a team?" Upon seeing Raffi's hand rise, he nodded to her. "Yes, Raffi?"

"Well... a team is, I guess, a group of people who are all devoted to the same cause... people who must and will work together for the benefit of themselves and possibly others... and a good team's members will do almost anything for their teammates, no matter what the consequences might be," Raffi said, the last few words seemingly directed towards one person in particular– and, at this point, everyone appeared to know who that 'someone' was.

"Hm, that is a decent definition, I would say," Lao Sh said. "Would you all agree with what she has just said?"

"It sounded good to me," nodded James. The others murmured in agreement.

"Yes, I would agree with her, too," said Lao Shi. "There is more to a team, but Raffi named the main aspects. Now, perhaps you might be asking yourselves why I am speaking so much of teamwork?"

"Well, yeah... it's getting kinda redundant, I guess," Kate agreed.

"Yes, well... if I told you why right now, I probably would begin to run out of lessons to teach you, so we shall speak more on this topic after the four of you complete your training session. Now," he pressed one of the buttons on the pedestal, "let us begin."

Much akin to the entrance that the robot Raffi and Shade had fought had made, eight small, metallic podiums rose from the lawn, each with an even smaller, robotic-looking, eight-legged creatures. They appeared to be approximately the size of a small dog, and seemed to be mere robotic spiders, complete with dull green eyes that barely even showed any sign of life. (Not that the robots were alive, that is.) The moment the pedestals stopped rising, the spiders scattered, scuttling across the lawn, and then formed a two-by-four rectangular shape, with each spider separated from the others next to them by about twenty feet. Ash, Kay, James, and Laura noticed that, in relation to the other features on the lawn (such as the trees), the spiders had formed these lines at about mid-lawn, where there were no other possible obstacles in their vicinity.

The four dragons stared at this strange unfolding, and then back at Lao Shi. "Um... Master Shi," asked James, "what exactly are we supposed to do?"

"Have patience. Why don't you turn back around and see your opponents now..."

They did, and were taken aback by another arcane happening. The dull green eyes of the spiders had now emitted a long, piercing green laser-light, one from each eye. Then, the spiders began to move slightly, basically rotating around where they sat, so that the lasers were like spotlights, and they formed a sort of gauntlet in between them– what with the lasers covering many parts of the area between them– aerial and on the ground– and could be inferred as much akin to that of a gauntlet in which a man would run through a narrow row of people, as each would beat the runner with belts and other sharp, stinging objects. And, every so often, one of the spiders would turn 180 degrees to its rear, and would shine its lasers there for a split second– so as to, it seemed, ward off any attacker that might be approaching it from the rear.

The four dragons looked on in dismay and in awe. These lasers would surely hurt– why else would they be utilized? Were they to attempt a flight through the spiders?– maneuvering through these obstacles on their way to the end of the course?

This seemed to be the common inference by the students, but, before they could carry out this supposed action, Lao Shi spoke once more, "Here is your task. Those spiders are, obviously, equipped with two lasers– so there are sixteen beams in total. Your job is to destroy, or at least inactivate, the spiders, thus ceasing the laser beams."

They nodded. It didn't sound easy, but it made sense...

"Now, a few quick precautions. First and foremost– prolonged skin exposure to these lasers is quite undesirable. To be quite blatant, try not to be hit by them at all, for it may cause a great deal of pain, and you might be sent to the infirmary, if need be. Let's pray that it does not come to that..."

"Also, you may notice that, every once in a while, the spiders turn their lasers to the area behind them. This is done to prevent any sneak-attacks from behind– so do not think that you will be able to simply walk up behind them. It will not be that easy."

The four dragons all let out a collective groan. Well, of COURSE it wouldn't be that easy– in fact, at that moment, it looked near-impossible! Still, they knew that they would be necessary to finish this task– and, of course, the other four dragons in the group had completed their training sessions. How would it look to Lao Shi if they were to not able to do as he had commanded? Not good, that was for sure.

And so, the dragons formed a tight huddle, as they attempted to plot out their courses of action. "Does anyone have any great ideas?" James asked, his face buried in his hands.

"Well... I'm not sure how it benefits you guys," spoke Kay, "but I– well, my whole clan, actually– can run extremely fast on all fours, faster than just about any dragon can fly. I think that, if I can get a large enough head-start, I might be able to take out an entire row of the spiders from the rear, before their lasers can turn around and hit me."

"Nice!!" said Ash. "Do you think you could take out the other row too?"

"Um... I'm not so sure that I should...," replied Kay. "I mean, this is supposed to be a team effort... how would it look to Master Shi if I did all the work? He'd probably be a little disappointed with all of us..."

"Yeah, you have a point there. Well... so what can the rest of us do??"

"Well, I don't mean to brag," grinned James, "but I, in my previous training, have honed some decent aerial techniques in terms of being able to maneuver through obstacles such as these... so I think I might be able to help out pretty well."

"Good for you two, then," Ash said. "But that stills leaves Laura and I, and we don't exactly have some 'special ability' to help us..." Laura nodded in agreement.

"I have an idea," said James. "Kay can take out the first row– four spiders. I can work on the middle two in the other row, and you two can work on one each– the two on the ends of the row. That way, you'll only have to worry about one spider and can focus on it all your attention. Fair enough?"

"Guess so," mumbled Laura.

"Okay, it's settled, then!" said Kay, straightening up as if she was about to leave the huddle. "Let's try and do this as quickly as we can– I want to try and impress Master Shi!"

"Alright! You guys ready?" James asked Ash and Laura. They nodded slowly.

"Let's go!"

They sprang into action, Kay setting herself up about twenty feet from the nearest row. She seemed to relapse into a strong mental concentration, staring ahead at the row of four spiders she was to take out. James took his place high in the sky, well above the reach of the lasers. He positioned himself above the two spiders he was to defeat, and seemed to be plotting his next move– it looked as if, at that point, he was going to attempt a kamikaze-like attack on his opponents, although this could only be inferred at this point. Laura and Ash, meanwhile, stood well-behind their respective spider, with unsure looks on their faces– as if they still were unsure of how to do what they were about to do.

Kay decided to go first. She dropped to all fours, and every muscle in her body seemed to tense up. After a few moments of this, she, quite suddenly, sprang forward, and began running at a speed that would rival even the fastest animals on earth. Running to the left side of the row of spiders (the side that was usually behind the aim of the lasers), she reached and stretched out her right claw. Soon, she was a black-and-blue blur, and almost seemed to fly past the row of spiders. Upon running past the final spider, she skidded (and I use this term quite literally) to a halt, and spun back around to see the damage she had caused.

The onlookers watched in awe as the heads of the spiders slid off the torso and fell to the ground. The lasers ceased to shine after this, and the spiders' bodies began to spark and malfunction. Kay grinned triumphantly, and stared up in James's direction, as if to say 'Your turn.'

James surprised everyone by diving headfirst right into the crossfire of the lasers. Of course, without the spiders on the other side of the gauntlet, this was slightly easier to do– but it still looked difficult. He put on quite a show– turning end-over-end over the lasers' aims, avoiding some with only inches to spare... although even then, he seemed to be avoiding them with such a grace that it almost appeared as if he was not even the least bit worried that he would ever be hit. Suddenly, he almost seemed to hover in-between the two middle spiders, and let loose a huge black flame– first at the one on the left, and then quickly at the one on his right. He then flew vertically upwards, and then hovered above to see if he had accomplished his task.

As it turned out, he had. While the spiders themselves were not destroyed (as with Raffi and Shade's robot, they were immune against fire-type attacks), the blast he emitted had melted and destroyed the laser-wielding green eyes. So, after this, the spiders began to run around blindly, as they could not see a thing. They ran into the aim of the remaining spiders' lasers, and were then destroyed.

James laughed. "Wow, I wasn't expecting for that to happen... alright, Ash and Laura! Bring it on home!"

Laura laughed nervously. "Easy for him to say," she muttered, and turned to Ash. "Well... you ready?"

"I'm just about as ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this."

"Yeah, okay... do we have a plan?" asked Laura.

"Not really. Just sprint in there and try to take them out– I think I'm gonna try what Kay did– knock off its head or something. That look, like, ten times easier than what James did." said Ash.

"Sounds good; I think I'll try that too. You ready?"

"Ready."

"Let's go!"

The two dragons took off– flying low to the ground. They were approaching the spiders from the rear, so they didn't have much time before the lasers turned to their direction. They would have to work quickly.

They both reached the spiders at the same time, and feverishly began their attempts to destroy their opponents. Laura had been preparing for her arrival beforehand, and, like Kay, already had a claw outstretched before she reached the spider. With one powerful slash, she beheaded the spider, rendering it immobile and unable to shoot its lasers anymore. Now, there was only one remaining– the four dragons had almost defeated it!

But Ash, for whatever reason, had not done as Laura had done. She instead stopped behind the spider, and seemed to be rethinking what she had planned to do. She raised a claw, intending to strike the spider from the rear.

However, just as she was about to do so, the spider's lasers turned onto her, and she was stricken in the arm by the right laser. Ash cried out in pain, and staggered back, clutching her left arm in protest. She, shortly after, fell backwards onto the ground, and cried out once more.

"Ash, no!" Laura rushed to her side. James and Kay joined her– Kay first taking out the final spider quickly, as to avoid any more injuries.

"Ash! Are you okay? C'mon, talk to me!" yelled James, grabbing her unhurt arm and clutching it tight.

"Damn, it hurts!!" moaned Ash, reverting back to her human form, in hope that her injury would be gone. Unfortunately, it was still there– and now it hurt more than ever. (In her dragon form, she had a higher tolerance for pain.) The other three, too, became their human selves, and a few moments later, Shade, Raffi, Kate, and Jay joined them as well.

"We saw what happened," Shade said. "Is she hurt bad?"

"I don't know! She won't take her hand off where it hit her!" exclaimed James.

Shade kneeled down next to Ash. "Ash, this is for your own good. You gotta let me see it..."

Fighting back tears, Ash slowly nodded. She removed her shaking hand from her arm, and revealed a deep-red gash, about the size of a baseball. The hand that she had been covering the abrasion with was covered in blood on the palm, and as soon as Shade had gotten a good look at it, she clamped that hand back over her wound.

"Ash, you're gonna have to get your hand off of it," Shade said. He turned to the other six kids. "Do any of you have something we could use for a tourniquet?"

"I have a handkerchief...," Kate said, reaching into her jeans pocket and taking out a long, black handkerchief.

"That'll do nicely, thanks," said Shade. Upon taking it, he wrapped it tightly around Ash's bleeding arm. "I need everyone to stand back, please," he said. Everyone obeyed, and then Shade quickly changed into his dragon form. "Master Shi could not come out to see you because of the grass, so he gave me orders to take you to the infirmary. Okay?"

Ash grimaced, and nodded slowly.

"Alright." Shade scooped up Ash in his arms. "Everyone else, Master Shi says that this ends training. You guys can go on inside for lunch... I'll met you all in there." And with that, he took off towards the academy. Lao Shi had already gone inside– likely heading down to the infirmary so that he could meet Shade and Ash there.

The six remaining students merely stood there for a few moments, seemingly attempting to absorb what had just happened and what Shade had just commanded them to do. Finally, Jay spoke, "Well, we might as well go on to lunch, then..."

And so they did, although not many words were spoken on the way there. Kay did speak to James at one point, however, saying something to the extent of, "Wow... Shade's really becoming a great leader... first he saved Raffi, and now this!"

Once again, when the students entered the cafeteria, much of the tables already had occupants– just as it had been that morning for breakfast. The table that they had sat at that morning was once again vacant, and so the six of them took their seats there, and after setting down some of their things, went up to the line for lunch. Upon coming back, they found Shade, sitting there with his hands in his lap.

"Hey, guys...," he greeted them, looking up so as to acknowledge them when they reached him.

"Hey, Shade...," said Kay. "How's Ash?"

"She's gonna be fine," Shade grinned. "That tourniquet really helped, according to the nurse. They're gonna put something a bit more sterile on her arm, though, among some other things... and she might be back with us by dinner tonight."

"That's good," nodded Raffi. "Will she be able to train with us, though?"

"I don't know... Master Shi is staying with Ash right now, so he's going to make the decision and let us know tonight...," and when he said this, his eyes brightened. "Oh! That reminds me! First of all, our afternoon training session is cancelled because of all this..."

"Oh yeah!" laughed Jay, with a hysteric smile. Laura jabbed him in the side, shaking her head.

"...however," continued Shade, "Master Shi did request that we meet in the lobby at seven o'clock tonight, for a short time. So... if you guys aren't at all busy (and you really shouldn't be), I'd recommend coming and listening to what he has to say. It may have something to do with our future training sessions, and maybe even of our assignments and missions once we leave the academy."

"Alright... so we have some free time until then?" asked Kate.

"It would appear so. I have basically no idea as to what I'm gonna do now with all this time, but... you guys do, I'm sure."

"Eh... not really," James said. There came a sound of indifference from the rest of the group, signifying that they really had nothing to do either.

"Well... there still is a lot outside the academy that we haven't seen yet... maybe we should do some exploring together..." suggested Raffi.

"You guys go on ahead...," Jay said, "I think I'm gonna go rest upstairs for a bit."

"You sure?" asked Laura, with a concerned look on her face.

"Oh... yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me...," he replied. He stood up from the table, and put his hand on Laura's shoulder. "I'll see you later..." And with this, he exited the cafeteria.

"Okay then," spoke Shade. "Do you guys wanna finish eating, and then head on outside?"

"Sounds good to me," nodded Kate. And so, the six remaining dragon students went back to their lunches, hurrying slightly so that they could get outside as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, Kay felt a tapping on her shoulder. "I know I already asked you this earlier this morning, but... is this seat taken?"

Kay turned around to see Will once more, standing there behind her with a broad grin on his face.

"Um... no, it isn't!" said Kay.

"Wow, you were actually able to answer me this time!" he laughed as he sat down.

"Yeah... sorry about that; you kinda caught me off guard."

"That's okay." Will seemed to be looking around. "What happened to that friend of yours? The one that was sitting with you this morning...?"

"Oh, Ash? She had an... accident at training this morning."

"Really? Wow, is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine... or so we've been told," Kay trailed off. Then her eyes snapped into focus. "Oh, hey! There's something I've been meaning to ask you– why are you here at the academy?"

"Me? Well, I'm the same as many of the students here– I'm a wizard."

"Wizard, as in, like, Harry Potter?"

"Shoot... Harry Potter's got nothin' on me...," laughed Will.

"Haha... that's awesome!" smiled Kay. She paused for a moment, looking thoughtful, before saying, "We're about to go outside for a bit, because our training was cancelled. Would you... maybe... like to come along with us?"

"Well," Will said, "my friends were going to the pool today, and I'm not really into that sort of thing, so... sure, why not?"

"Great! I think we're about to leave now... everyone seems to be done eating."

And they were. So, everyone stood up and walked from the table, on their way to the outdoors. They had formed a mostly tight mass of kids as they walked through the hallways, with Kay introducing Will to the other members of the group.

Soon, they reached the backdoor of the academy. Upon exiting the school, they came across a park-like atmosphere– which is what they had hoped for.

They stepped out onto the grass. "Hehe... you know what I'll bet...?" spoke James to the group in particular.

"What?" asked Laura.

"I'll bet that... if I was to say we were gonna play Tag, and I was to tell Kate that she was 'it,' she would NEVER catch me, or anyone else playing."

"Hah... that's a pretty dumb bet," laughed Kate.

"Is it now?" James walked over to Kate. "Well... we'll see about that. 'Cause guess what?"

"What?"

"You're... it!"

James patted Kate on the shoulder, and then sprinted away, laughing gleefully as he did so.

"You are SO dead...," Kate yelled. She took off after.

"Oh! Count me in to play, too!" Laura exclaimed, joining them on the lawn. Will and Kay soon followed.

Shade grinned as he watched the game unfold. But then, he stared over at Raffi, who apparently had decided not to partake in this game. "Raffi... you okay?"

"Oh, um... yeah, I'm fine. I guess... I'm not usually too good at these kinds of games...," replied Raffi, who almost seemed as if she had been startled by Shade's arrival.

"Yeah... I'm not playing because I want to give the other guys a chance.. I mean, because of my totally awesome athletic abilities and all, and I don't wanna be the glory-getter or anything..."

"I see...," chuckled Raffi. She paused, and then said, "Hey, Shade?"

"Hm?" Shade grunted, as he eyed the game of Tag.

"There's... something kinda important that I wanted to tell you..."

"Raffi, I already said it– you don't need to thank me anymore for saving you!"

"But... that's not what I was talking about..."

"Oh. Alright... um, what is it?"

"Well... I guess that it's really hard to say, actually, but... the thing is, Shade, I feel like I might be..."

"You might be... what?" asked Shade with a bewildered look upon his face.

"Falling..."

"WATCH OUT!"

The warning had come from James, who was running towards them, with Kate hot on his heels. Not seeing Raffi, he smacked right into her, and the two of them fell to the ground.

Kate walked over to the grounded James and touched him on the head. "You're it, superstar." Laughing, she walked back over to the other players.

"Ehhhhh...," James groaned, pulling himself up from the ground. "Sorry 'bout that, Raffi...," he offered a hand to help her up.

"Thanks...," sighed Raffi. She took his hand and stood up.

"Wow, Raffi... are you psychic or something?" asked Shade.

"I don't think so... why?"

"Well, you said that you 'might be falling'... and then you fell. Wow... do you have any other visions?"

Raffi sighed heavily. "Uhhh... no. Never mind, Shade."

Shade stared at her for a few moments, shrugged, and returned to watching the game.

After a few more minutes, the players were exhausted, and decided to call it quits. Everyone headed inside, back to their dorms.

"Well, I'm gonna go meet back up with my friends," Will told Kay. "Maybe I'll see you later...?"

"Sure... I hope so," smiled Kay.

Will smiled back, waved, and headed off toward the pool.

Meanwhile, the six dragons continued off towards their dorms, but suddenly paused, for a door in the hallway had abruptly opened and had nearly hit Laura.

They were surprised to find that it was Jay that stepped out of it.

"...Jay?" asked Laura.

"Oh! Hi, guys! Haha, you scared me..."

"I thought you were going up to bed...," said Shade skeptically.

"Hm? Oh, yeah... I was! But then... Atticus called and said that our parents had delivered our belongings, so I went to find him. I already got mine, though. Your guys' stuff was sent over to the office, because you were outside. I'd suggest going and picking them up..."

"Ah... alright," Raffi said. "Let's go, then..."

And so, the seven of them set off to retrieve their belongings, and then would relax in their dorms for the remainder of the afternoon– awaiting the evening, when they would be updated on Ash's condition, and to find out more of their duties at the academy.

END CHAPTER


	6. Chapter 6

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 1: The Surrogate Cavalry

Chapter 6: Could This Be Love?

After retrieving their belongings at the front desk of the academy, the seven students made their way to their dorm rooms. At that point in time, it was about four o'clock, so they had about two hours until dinner, followed by their meeting with Lao Shi at seven. Until then, they figured that they would be able to rest for a bit in their rooms. Some were tired– even if it had not exactly been a trying day up to that point.

Upon reaching their rooms, each student went into their respective rooms, so as to drop off their personal belongings. Some were also planning on changing out of the clothes they were in at that point, as some had been in the same clothes for a good while.

Although their initial intent was to relax in their own rooms, without outside interruption, they were disrupted a few moments later by an exclamation of excitement from the direction of Raffi's room. And, while no one could be sure what, exactly, she had yelled, some swore they had heard Ash's name included in it.

All six of them attempted to enter Raffi's room at the same time (which was actually quite humorous to watch), and soon realized why Raffi had cried out.

"Ash! Welcome back!" grinned James.

Ash's head raised from her pillow on her bed, and smiled as well. "Hah, hey, James... you're looking hopeless as ever..."

"Well, I'm not the one on bed rest with my arm in a cast...," James shot back.

"Cut it out, you two," said Shade. "Ash, is everything gonna be okay?"

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" Ash laughed. "The nurse said that I should be just fine in a few days... I'll be able to take off the bandage on my arm then. Note that I said bandage, not CAST, James!" She shot a bold look at him.

"It looks like a cast to me... I mean, that's a pretty big bandage if it isn't a cast, then..."

"Guys, enough!" exclaimed Shade. "What did Lao Shi say about you being able to train with us, Ash?"

"He said that I'll be able to join you guys as soon as the nurses clear me to... which will probably be in about a week, according to them."

"Great... now we'll be down a member for training," sighed Laura. "I hope that this doesn't push back the day we leave any more..."

"If that's what we must do, though, we have to go with their decision," Shade said. "Master Shi and the doctors are just trying to do what's best for Ash. We gotta remember that..."

"Yeah, I guess..."

After these words, there was a prolonged silence. After a few moments, Ash finally broke the silence. "Well... I was about to watch this movie... you guys can stay if you want..."

"Well, we have nothing to do for two hours, so why not?...," agreed Kate.

"What movie is it?" asked Jay.

"Uh... The Notebook..."

All the girls in the room gasped in delight. On the other hand, the guys in the room moaned in despair.

"There has GOT to be something better on...," insisted James.

"Aw, c'mon, James... it's time to get in touch with your feminine side!" Ash laughed.

"Actually, I quite prefer my masculinity, thank you very much."

"Your what?" asked Kay.

"Oh, just his poor excuse for not wanting to watch The Notebook, that's all...," grinned Laura.

"Is not!"

"Is too! I'll bet ALL of you guys are trying to think up some excuse to not watch it!" Laura said.

"That's not fair, Laura! You've made me watch it at LEAST ten times already!" protested Jay.

"Jay, you know that you can never watch The Notebook too much! Now, everyone, sit your butts down and watch the damn movie," commanded Laura.

For fear that Laura might do something extreme, the three boys took their places on the floor of the room, so that only Kay was left standing.

"Um... do you guys mind if I go find Will so he can watch it, too?" she asked, with a slight blush on her face.

"Sure, I don't mind," said Ash.

"Are you guys, like, dating or something?" asked Kate curiously.

"Oh, no! We're just... good friends, that's all," Kay defended herself.

"Wow, 'cause I was gonna say... we've only been here for a day..."

With this, Kay exited the room, calling, "You guys can go ahead and start it without me!"

"Good, because that's what I was planning on doing anyway," Ash said as she flipped on the TV in their room. "The movie's on HBO anyway..."

And so, the group sat there, as the movie was beginning. The room, being rather spacious, was not too crowded with the seven that were in there at that moment. Ash laid in her bed, with Laura and Jay sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed, Laura's head resting on Jay's shoulder. Nearby, James sat on the floor, his head in his hands as if he was disgraced. Kate laid on her stomach a few feet away, her head cocked up as she strained herself to watch the television. Raffi sat upright to the left of her, and Shade was near her, up against the wall.

About ten minutes into the movie, Kay and Will entered the room. Ash nodded to the two of them in recognition of their entrance, and they took a seat up against the foot of Raffi's unoccupied bed. And with this, the room went quiet– save for the sound that the television was emitting. It stayed like this for a good while into the movie, too.

Raffi had been trying to watch the movie, but she, unlike many of the other girls, was not as interested in it. Yawning, she stared around at her fellow students. Kate and Laura sat there with tears in their eyes, while Jay held Laura close, seemingly acting as if he was into the movie, when it was likely that he was not, considering that he had claimed to seeing it a few times before. Ash laid in her bed, kind of half-awake, still eying the TV every once in a while. James appeared to be asleep in his position, his head still buried in his hands. Every once in a while, he would stir– his eyes would snap open and would stare around at the others for a few moments, and then he would relapse into his sleep-like state once more.

Perhaps the most surprising and interesting occurrence to Raffi was Kay and Will. Although Kay had insisted that the two of them were mere friends and were not "dating," there they were now– up against the foot of Raffi's bed, Kay's head resting against Will's, a content smirk painted onto her face. Will's arm was bent around her as well, and he, too, exhibited the same grin. Interesting!– perhaps, when Kay had ventured to find Will, and as they were making their way back to the room, a certain question was imposed by one of them. It sure seemed so.

And then there was Shade, who sat behind Raffi. She had only turned to glance at him for a sporadic moment– as lingering in this stare would likely come off as slightly odd to Shade, should he see her. But what Raffi did see of Shade was his head rested firmly against the side wall, eying the television in a rather apathetic manner.

It was then that Raffi decided to move back a few feet– in order to sit with Shade. She, of course, still did have feelings for him– but up to that point, all attempts to communicate this to Shade had been futile. And, at that time, her intentions were not to try and tell him again– It was merely to have someone to talk to. Shade did look bored enough... perhaps she was doing him a favor, so that he would stay awake.

"Hi," she whispered as she slid back next to him, resting her back against the wall. "How are you liking the movie?"

Her intrusion had surprised Shade slightly. But soon, he answered, "Well, I was pretty much about to fall asleep before you came over. How about you?"

"Same here," said Raffi. "The only difference is, I really might fall asleep... especially considering how long I was up last night. If Ash wasn't already hurt, I'd probably kill her myself."

"Don't you think that's a little extreme?" laughed Shade.

"Oh, no. She had it coming, believe me."

Shade smiled. "Well, sleep if you want– I don't think anyone else is gonna notice...," he said, glancing around at the other preoccupied tenants of the room.

"Sounds good, then," Raffi said contently. She leaned her head against the wall, her gaze returning to the movie.

It had been mere minutes since this exchange when, as she felt herself nearing the congenially welcome sense of sleep, Raffi did something quite audacious– she rested her head on Shade's shoulder, closing her eyes, with a nervous-yet-triumphant grin across her face. She did not know what exactly had possessed her to be so audacious– perhaps it had been seeing the absolute felicity in the eyes of Kay as she laid her head against Will. From Kay radiated a certain sense of security and fulfillment– and this was, apparently, appealing to Raffi. And why not? Raffi had never been truly close to anyone other than her family, yet she had heard many stories from her friends about the boys they were infatuated with. Occasionally, a few of these infatuations came to fruition and developed into a relationship– something that near-all teenagers long for in their early lives. That seemed to be the main driving force behind Raffi's actions– it seemed as if she wanted to get the point across to Shade, and this was the best way she saw fit.

To be truthful, most of the kids in the room did not pay much mind to this occurrence. After all, was it not possible that Raffi was simply tired, and found the hard wall a bit unappealing? It was possible– it just was not, in actuality, the true culprit.

At any rate, amidst this, Shade had been quite civil about all this, and had not, instead, pulled away. He was, in a sense, surprised at this– in many cases, a girl would rest her head on a guy's shoulder because she entrusted in him this sense of security, and it often was symbolic of the girl either liking him, or already in love with him. Still, despite all this, Shade actually welcomed it– for, in truth, he did kind of like her. He had not at first– he had merely viewed her as a schoolmate, and nothing more. But as his time at the academy (short as it had been) had gone on, he had begun to notice her– especially with their encounters more recently. And furthermore, it always seemed that, whenever Raffi was around him, she was trying to tell him something... and now, Shade was wondering if she had been attempting to tell him that she was falling in love with him– even if it was so soon.

Soon, Shade felt Raffi's breathing slow– it was apparent that she had, as she averred she would, fallen asleep. It was fine with Shade. In fact, the idea of sleep had actually crossed his mind at one point– for whatever reason, he just did not seem able to get into this movie.

This went on for another hour, approximately. It was then that the movie had concluded, and it was nearly time for dinner. The students stretched and yawned as they began to arise from their seats on the floor. It was at this point that many of them finally noticed Raffi and Shade, up against the wall, with Raffi asleep against Shade's side. Shade looked up at them helplessly– he wasn't sure how to get up, because it was likely that Raffi would slide off and smack her head on the ground, should he move now– which would wake her up... she just wouldn't be too happy about awaking in that manner.

"Aw... someone was tired...," laughed James. Meanwhile, Ash looked on from her bed, a sly, triumphant grin forming across her face.

"Yeah, real cute," Kate said. "Someone needs to wake her up, though..."

"That can be arranged...," said Ash. Rising from her bed, she walked over to Raffi and Shade, and bent over so that she was mere inches from Raffi's left ear. "Raffi! Come quick! The chickens are loose again!"

Although this seemed like a slightly odd thing to say, it did wake Raffi up– quite suddenly, actually. Startled, her head rose quickly from Shade's shoulder, her eyes snapping open. For a few moments, she stared around, attempting to catch a glimpse of her surroundings, as if she did not recall where she was. When she had finally regained all of her senses, she turned to Ash. "Ash, what the hell was that all about?"

"Well, we had to wake you up somehow... and that seemed like the easiest way."

"Yeah, but... chickens?"

Ash laughed. "I dunno. I guess I've always wanted to say that."

"Well, given the extent to which she was startled," James observed, "I'd say she's gonna have some crazy recurring farm nightmare for the rest of her life."

"Great. Thanks, Ash."

"Anytime."

As this was taking place, Shade had stood up, and now appeared to be staring at the left sleeve of his shirt in a rather annoyed way.

"What's wrong, Shade?" asked Kay.

"Um... Raffi, can I ask you a question?"

"...sure...?"

"Do you, by any chance, have a drooling problem?"

Raffi's eyes widened. "Oh... um, well... maybe... why?"

"Oh, no reason," sighed Shade, who, after looking down at his sleeve once more, turned towards the doorway. "I'm gonna go get changed before dinner. I'll see you guys down there."

"Alright," Laura said. "Don't forget, we also have that meeting with Master Shi tonight at seven."

"Yes, I know. I did tell you guys about the meeting in the first place, after all."

"Oh, right."

And with this, Shade exited the room, heading off to his dorm. James and Jay followed soon after, and Will and Kay exchanged a tight hug and a few whispered words before he left for his wing of the academy.

As soon as all of the boys had left the room, the first words spoken came from Ash. "Raffi... did you really fall asleep on Shade?"

"Well... not ON him... but leaned up against him, yeah..."

"And... you drooled on him?"

"Unfortunately, it looks that way, yeah," said Raffi, her face turning a bright shade of red.

"Well, he didn't seem TOO upset...," Kate said. "I mean, he didn't go crazy about it or anything..."

"I know...," sighed Raffi, "but it still doesn't make me feel any better..."

"Ah, well... don't worry about it," Laura reassured her. "It could have been much worse..."

"Oh, really? How so?"

"Uh... just trust me on this one. I kinda know from experience..."

"Yeah... you could've fallen asleep on his lap and then drooled...," exclaimed Kay.

"Kay, you're not really helping..."

"Oh... yeah, sorry, guys. I'm just really happy right now, that's all..."

"Good for you," sighed Raffi.

"Yes, I was wondering about that," said Ash, referring to Kay and Will's minor PDA in the back of the room. "I thought you said that you and Will were just friends..."

"Well... yeah, we were when you asked me," Kay explained. "But, you see, I found him down in the lobby with some of his friends, and I think he was telling them about me..."

"So then, when we were coming back to the room, he asked me what I would say if he said that he liked me and that he'd like to ask me out. Well, I didn't exactly hesitate when I said that I liked him too and would say yes to his proposal. So without missing a beat, he asked me– for real. And that was it."

"Wow. Congrats, then," said Kate.

"Thanks," smiled Kay. "I do hope everything goes well... he IS my first boyfriend and all, and... well, I probably should be getting back to my room. We've got dinner in about an hour..."

"I agree with you there," Laura said. "C'mon, Kate."

Kate silently obeyed, making her way over to the doorway, along with Laura. Kay followed soon after, leaving Raffi and Ash alone in their room.

The moment Ash was certain that all of the other students were out of hearing range, she turned to Raffi and exclaimed, "Oh my God! You're totally in love with Shade!"

"What?! Am not!"

"C'mon, Raffi, you know you are! I mean, you talk to him just about every chance you get! And, why else would you go back and sit with him?– and fall asleep on his shoulder, for God's sake!"

"Ash, I talk to you just about every chance I get... and did you ever think that I was just tired?"

"It's not the same!" Ash said bluntly.

Raffi sighed, staring at the floor. After a few moments, she said, "Is it really that obvious?"

"Oh, please... it's so obvious, it's almost laughable," giggled Ash. "So... do you want me to talk to him for you...?"

"No!" cried Raffi. And, after she saw Ash's look of alarm at her sudden outburst, she quickly followed it with, "I just... kinda want to tell him myself. And plus, he probably thinks I'm some weirdo after I drooled on him..."

"You'll never know 'til you ask," Ash said, looking to Raffi with a caring smile. She then walked over to her nearby dresser, which was now full of the clothes her parents had delivered earlier in the day, and said, "I'm gonna go ahead and get ready for tonight. I'd say you probably should too..."

"Yeah... sounds good, I guess," agreed Raffi, and she, too, prepared herself for the night's activities, which consisted simply of dinner and their meeting with Lao Shi, followed by free time for the remainder of the night.

And this was met with great anticipation from many of the students– especially the meeting, for it would basically provide them with a glimpse into their future at the academy, as well as the predicted occurrences beyond their tenure.

Later, the eight met outside their dormitories, and made their way together to the cafeteria. Gone was the sense of wonderment and slight confusion that had been invoked in them exactly one night prior, when they had made the same trek through the eastern wing of the academy– and in its place now was an understanding of their surroundings, as well as a coherence of what was to occur later on that night.

However, along with this, there was still a small feeling of hostility and embarrassment between two of the students– this obviously being Raffi and Shade. They walked as far as possible from each other– Shade at the front of the group, as seemed customary as of late, and Raffi at the back, her gaze meeting the moving ground. She was unsure still if Shade was annoyed or upset with her over their encounter earlier on that day, but she did not want to find out– she figured that the best action would be to try and avoid Shade for the time being, at least for a little while.

The cafeteria was probably the most crowded it had been thus far. Many fellow students– a few of which the eight had not seen before– were already sitting among the spacious room's many tables, and more were waiting in line near the front of the place.

After ordering and receiving their food, they made their way to a table that was somewhat near the one they had sat at before– because their normal table was already occupied by a couple of girls who could be considered as the more tomboyish of the other girls in the cafeteria.

They ate rather quickly– they had merely a half an hour before their meeting in the lobby. Will joined them a few minutes after they sat down, taking the empty seat that Kay had reserved for him.

As they ate, the group made tentative plans on what they would do for free time that night after the meeting. And, after mention of various possibilities, it was decided in the end that they would utilize the pool for that night. From this, a few of the students made claim to being 'the most amazing swimmer ever,' and offered to flaunt their skills later on. Whether or not they were speaking the truth, it could not be inferred at that point, for then Shade announced that it was time to head over to the lobby, to meet Lao Shi.

After exchanging good-byes with Will, the group walked briskly to the meeting spot– which luckily was not too far away. Upon reaching the grand staircase that stood adjacent to the lobby, they were able to see into the lobby from a distance– and saw Lao Shi already there, seated in his wheelchair at a circular table in the corner of the room, near the fireplace.

"Ah, welcome, children," Lao Shi greeted them as they walked into the room and took seats around the nearby tables. "I trust that you all have had a relaxing few hours off today, and are ready to get down to business now?"

"That's right," James said.

"Very good. Now, you all may be wondering why we are meeting tonight, hm?"

The group nodded in agreement, and Lao Shi followed this with, "Well, first of all, let me begin by informing you all on Ashleigh's status."

"Because of her injuries sustained at our training session earlier this morning, Ashleigh will be unable to partake in our sessions in which physicality is required for a period of seven days– at which point, the medical staff at the academy will assess her and determine whether or not she is fit to rejoin the rest of you all in the field. If they deem her fit to train, then we will be able to begin full-force training."

"Now, I would like to fill all of you in on what shall be occurring in the coming weeks of your stay at the academy," continued Lao Shi. "In order to prepare you for the possibly vigorous and dangerous mission that lies ahead, we shall begin to test your true skills– now that I have an idea as to what I am working with. This shall continue for approximately three weeks, at which point you all will be sent out on your first mission together."

"But... what will our mission be?" asked Kay, her voice quivering with uncertainty.

"Patience, Kay. I was just about to get to that," said Lao Shi sternly. "Now... are you all familiar with my grandson, Jake Long– the current American Dragon?"

"Mr. Stevenson mentioned him," Shade nodded. "Wasn't he lost in the attacks on the Dragon Summit?"

"That he was," replied the wise old man, his gaze dropping sadly to the table for a split second, before returning to the students, "...as were many other dragons, as I am sure you all have heard."

"Here is something that you likely have not been informed of, however," he continued. "The vast majority of the dragons that attended the Summit that fateful day are, obviously, deceased. A few more, like myself, were lucky enough to survive and are still on this earth today. But then," his voice became uncharacteristically tense, "there are the other dragons– the ones whose bodies have not been found, nor have they been discovered among the living. They are the younger dragons registered within the Council, ranging from about thirteen to eighteen years of age. Many of them are the dragon representatives of their own country. My grandson, Jake, is included in this group."

"This group was inside the main building of the Summit with their supervisor for that day, Elias Morillo– the former Colombian Dragon. When the explosion hit the Summit, the building was leveled. However, there were no remnants of any of the dragons– absolutely no signs of them ever being inside when the explosion occurred. Morillo was not found, either. Other dragons that were separate from this group but were in the building at the time were found still inside the building after the attacks, dead. But there was no sign of any of the dragon students/"

"There is currently an excavation commencing at the building site and around the Isle of Draco, in an attempt to try and find these missing dragons. Thus far, these excavations have been to no avail."

"The depleted Dragon Council– which consists merely of Councillor Andam and Councillor Omina (after the others were killed in the attacks), hold a firm belief that these missing dragons, whom add up to about ninety dragons (equal to the amount of countries represented at the Summit), are still alive. And, after further discussion, it was mentioned that the Reich is likely behind their disappearance."

"If this is true, then the Council also believes that the unaccounted-for dragons are being held at a disclosed location somewhere in the world– likely in a Reich stronghold of some sort, if not their main headquarters. The problem, of course, is that the Council is not sure where this facility is– or if one even exists."

"But the Council does not have the advanced technology that myself and my associates here at the academy possess," came a voice from behind them. They turned to see that it was Atticus Stevenson.

"Why, yes, Atticus, I was just about to get to that part...," Lao Shi said.

"I'm sure you were, old sport," nodded Atticus. "Perhaps, though, I should explain it to the children... after all, I am the "mastermind" of this whole covert operation."

"Very well," sighed Lao Shi. "You probably would be able to explain it better anyway."

"Thank you, Lao," Atticus grinned. He then began to speak to the students, whose eyes followed him intently, as it was likely that, whatever the words were that would come from his mouth, they would be of the utmost importance to the group."

"Using the academy's renowned global tracking system, we were able to find what we believe to be the location of a certain Reich stronghold, located in the upper half of the state of New York. This facility has been operated in secret for quite some time now, and we have been watching its movements closely in the past, just to make sure that it was not, in any way, endangering the well-being of the magical world. You see, it's quite rare nowadays for such a facility to be clothed in such secrecy that only a minuscule number of citizens in the area even know of its existence. The building sits in the middle of a deep woods, and is not too large– probably about a sixteenth of the size of our academy. It appears, on the outside, much like a warehouse of sorts, and is surrounded by a tall barbed-wire fence."

"For a good while, the aforementioned facility was shrouded in idleness– no one left, and no one entered. However, we were watching via satellite only during the day. So, we decided to step up our surveillance, and operate nightly as well. It was then that we began to witness some truly strange occurrences– such as a great wind that might blow for mere moments, opening a side door to the building for a split second, before ceasing and closing the door. This would happen on entirely windless nights, and we've tried to debunk this, however one of our employees, a shapeshifter that was able to navigate over the fence and to the door as a hawk, was unable to, when he reverted back to human form, open the door to see inside, for it was locked. Nevertheless, the wind would always blow the door open. And one night, during our surveillance at around midnight, the door did open, and for a few moments, a white-hooded figure poked its head out of the door, seemed to glance around, and then ducked back inside the building. This is the only known sighting of anything tangible coming in or out of the building, yet I believe that the appearance of this figure in the doorway is clear evidence that the Reich is currently occupying the building, and that this place could quite possibly be a stronghold of theirs. Thus, I am extremely confident that, if it was the Reich that is behind the disappearance of the dragons, they are being held at this location– especially considering that we have been unable to detect the Reich anywhere else in the world, and it is likely that this building is also their headquarters."

"So, let me guess," Raffi said. "You want the eight of us to go on a rescue mission to this place, try and find the missing dragons, and get back here safely."

"Precisely that, Raffi," nodded Atticus. "In three weeks' time, the eight of you shall venture out to this facility, and will attempt to find a way in. Once you have done this, you will utilize skills that will be learned in the next few weeks to not only evade the enemy, but also to stealthily search the grounds and gain valuable knowledge of the building's layout, all the while attempting to discover the whereabouts of the dragons held captive, should they truly be there."

"I'm kinda skeptical, though...," James said with a narrowed stare. "Given what we know thus far about the Reich, what they're capable of and destruction they've caused... don't you think they would be using a larger facility for their headquarters? You mentioned that the building wasn't too large... it just doesn't seem believable..."

"Ah yes, very good argument there, James," said Atticus. "You see, though, there is no real proof saying that the boundaries of the facility stretch only above ground. I am quite certain that there is an underground section of the headquarters– simply because, going along with what you mentioned, it's actually quite common for more "advanced" facilities to have an underground area... this academy itself even has one, although the contents of which are top secret to all except academy personnel."

"That's true...," James said in comprehension. "How would we get there, though?"

"We have arrangements made for your travel to New York; you need not worry about that," responded Atticus. "Now... are there any further questions?"

There came no response from the eight students. It was likely that the combination of Lao Shi and Atticus had explained just about everything about their mission that needed to be covered. It seemed easy enough to remember– remain at the academy, training for three weeks, and then set off to New York on their rescue mission. What else could there be?

"All right, if there are no more questions, then I suppose that you all are dismissed," nodded Atticus. He then turned to Lao Shi, "Is there anything I'm missing?"

"No... I'm quite certain that you touched upon everything," Lao Shi replied. "Will we be requiring the students for any more activities tonight?"

"I don't believe so," said Atticus thoughtfully. "I think that free time for the remainder of the night shall do nicely. Now, if you'll excuse me, Lao, I have some important business to attend to with my associates. It involves... well, the means by which we shall be sending the students to New York."

"Ah... perhaps I should accompany you, then?"

"Sorry... some of my associates do not take too kindly to strangers... and this meeting could become a bit... heated. I'll inform you of the tenets of the operation as soon as I find out more. Good night," he bowed to Lao Shi and left hastily from the lobby.

After a few moments, Lao Shi left as well, murmuring a farewell to the seated students.

"So... what now?" Kate asked.

"Well, it sounds like tonight will probably be our last free night for a while," Shade observed. "How about we make something of it?"

"Like what...?" asked Ash.

"Well... we haven't tried the pool yet..."

This was apparently appealing to the other teens, as they nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "I'm gonna stop by the restroom first, though," said Kate. I'll meet you guys up in the dorms."

"Yeah... come to think of it, I'll do the same," Jay said, and the two of them departed from the group in the opposite direction.

And so, the remaining students left together for their dorm rooms, which would be followed by a trip to the pool. They departed with the same sense of anticipation that they had felt upon their arrival– as now, they truly did know how their lives would play out over the next few weeks.

Their lives would involve a few hardships and some fortuitous happenings. Perhaps some previously furtive thoughts would no longer go unmentioned, or at least be implied. It could not be known at that very moment, as the students stepped up the grandiloquent staircase in the front of the academy. But they did know one thing– when the time came for them to oppose the machinations of the Reich, they would be ready.

(End)

It was pitch-black once more and Jake Long had awakened, not remembering why or how he had became unconscious to begin with. He did feel a splitting pain in his head, and soon was able to infer that he had, somehow, fallen down and struck his head on the hard concrete floor he laid on.

He sat up, his vision blurred from the synthesis of unconsciousness and his headache, and tried to look around. Although it was still quite dark, Jake's eyes were able to adjust to the darkness and his vision cleared up slightly, and he thus was able to recognize about five shadow-like figures that stood in front of him.

Before he could react, a dim lightbulb above him in the center of the room flickered on. Jake winced, for it was the first light he could recall seeing for a good while.

He now could see the figures in front of him more clearly. They were much akin to the white-hooded figure he had encountered previously– the one that had claimed that he was being held captive by the Reich... whoever that was. Every figure in the room had the familiar white robe, with a white hood pulled over their head and eyes. In fact, all that was visible in terms of facial expressions were their mouths, some of which were turned up in sinister grins.

"Good morning, Jake," sneered one of the figures. Jake recognized his voice as being that of the man whom he had encountered previously in the room. "I trust that you had a fulfilling rest?"

"Yeah, I was, until I woke your face, or lack of," Jake shot, glaring around at the surrounding figures martially.

The corners of the man's mouth twisted into an angry grimace, and he seemed as if he would lunge at Jake at any time. However, he seemed to calm when the figure next to him put its arm on his shoulder, and spoke in an aged male voice, "Calm yourself, Marcus. Remember, he can say what he wants." The man's voice seemed quite akin to the voice that had spoke to Marcus through his walkie-talkie when Jake had first encountered him.

"And who would you be?" demanded Jake of the older man.

"My name is of no importance to you," the man replied. "You may refer to me, however, as the Sovereign– the supreme leader of the Reich, which just so happens to be the bringer of the imminent doom that shall befall the entire magical world!"

"The imminent doom of the magical world? Haven't I heard this before?" Jake asked impatiently, referring to the main objective of his former nemesis, the Huntsclan.

"Perhaps you have. I'm certain, however, that no other organization devoted to this cause has made quite the impact that we have made thus far."

"Impact? What impact?"

"Ah, that's right," grinned the Sovereign. "In your detainment, you have been uninformed as to what truly happened that day at the Isle of Draco. Well, then– perhaps I should fill you in on the details, hm?" The four other hooded figures surrounding him nodded in agreement.

"It has, to this day, been our greatest success in terms of ridding the world of magical filth. Sure, we have had plenty of other triumphs– from the Centaur Massacre a few months back to the slaughter of the European Warlocks just last week. Still, none have even equaled the chaotic destruction that we were able to achieve at the Isle of Draco."

"We chose a day on which there was to be a plethora of dragons on the island– especially the most powerful ones. We positioned ourselves around the island, avoiding the security personnel, and then decided that it was time to carry out our attack."

"But there was one more thing that had to be done. We had to transport a special group of dragons to a safe place, so that they would not be harmed during the attack. We need to preserve this group– for now."

"And let me guess," said Jake. "I'm part of this group."

"That is correct. The others whom you were with at that time are part of this group as well– all of the young dragons that represent their home countries at the Dragon Summit each year. This would also include Elias Morillo, your supervisor. He shall play a vital part in what we are planning... although not as large a part as you and your colleagues shall..."

"What are you gonna use us for?" Jake asked. "And what about the other dragons that were at the Summit? Like my Grandpa?"

"All shall be revealed in time, Mr. Long."

"...what kind of sick man are you?"

"Hah– I'm anything but sick, Jake. I suppose I am simply a partisan of this cause, pivotal to its success, and at this time, it is important that certain details not be revealed to you at this time. Fear not, though– your role in this shall be known by you soon..."

"Just tell me about my Grandpa! Is he alive?! Answer me!!"

"A devastating explosion... hundreds dead... all but a few of you. You should feel lucky, Mr. Long. You've been chosen by the Reich to survive... for now."

"Explosion? What explosion?! And what about–?"

The Sovereign turned to the other four and said, "The boy sure does ask a lot of questions, doesn't he?"

"Yeah... maybe it's time we put him back to sleep...," spoke a figure with a static female voice.

"No!"

Grinning, the four hooded figures rose and strode off towards the nearby door. One walked over to the wall, over to where the man Jake had first met had been. The figure pressed the all-too-familiar button on the wall, which in turn caused the sleeping gas to be emitted from the ceiling.

Jake's vision blurred. He could not make out clearly the hooded figures anymore, but simply their outlines as they walked out of the room. He stumbled after them, attempting desperately to escape from his demented prison, for he knew that if he was able to get out of the room, then his ability to fully become a dragon would be restored. (At that point in time, he was only able to utilize his dragon powers in a minor way, as he had found when he was able to produce a small flame the first time he had awakened in order to light up the room.) He could find the other captives (granted that the Sovereign had been truthful in telling him that he was a part of this preserved "group") and be on his way to freedom, at which point he could determine whether Lao Shi was alive or dead.

But, his vision being blurred in the degree that it was, he was unable to reach the door quick enough, and instead the final Reich member closed the door in his face, which sent Jake sprawling to the ground. He was able to let out one last drawn-out sigh of defeat before he was unconscious once more, the sleeping gas coursing through his lungs and into his mind.

The five Reich members, the hooded figures, laughed sinisterly outside in the long, white-plastered walls which seemed to stretch on and on eternally. Of course, the hall would have to be long– there were, after all, about ninety other dragons being held captive there.

The old man known now as the Sovereign stared around at his colleagues. "Well now, shall we proceed to the next captive?"

"That sounds good, Mr. Sharp," replied the female figure.

"I just can't believe that all of this is working out so well," piped up the tallest of the hooded figures, a man with a deep, booming voice and what appeared to be rippling muscles teeming under his white robe. "Sure, everyone is beginning to realize that we, the Reich, are behind all these attacks, but no one has even the slightest clue as to where we are, which downright amazes me!"

"Yes, well," the Sovereign, Mr. Sharp, said, "I have been working quite diligently to keep our position a secret, as I've exemplified over the past few days. However, there is still much more we will need to attend to in order to maintain our base. But first, we need to continue our check of the captives. Let us proceed..."

And so, the five members of the Reich walked together down the hallway, stopping at the next door. One entered a code into a touchpad on the door, which opened it, and so they stepped inside, to carry out their task on the next dragon.

(End)

Time passed quickly at the Stevenson Academy over the next three weeks. The chosen students' true training began– and proved to be quite rigorous. At first, there were merely seven, as Ash was unable to train for the first week with her injury. But once they all were finally united, everything became slightly easier. They were able to work and function as a team, just as Lao Shi had stressed at their first meeting.

It was actually quite interesting to see how the individuals in the group progressed. The six that had already known about their powers prior to coming to the academy– Shade, Raffi, Ash, Laura, Kay, and James– seemed to improve their combat skills immensely, and were definitely fit to engage in battle with what could be considered the "above-average" villains in the world. Before, a few of them could barely breathe a strong flame (or other elements in certain cases) or engage in even the slightest form of physical combat. And then there was the two extreme novices of the group– Jay and Kate. They had not even known of their possession of dragon powers prior to arriving at the academy, and now they had become just as skilled as the other six were– which was a good thing, as it would've been inconvenient if they had been less skillful, and thus were unable to match the output of the other six and would be considered as "in the way."

Seemingly the most satisfied with the rescue cavalry's progress and stature was Atticus Stevenson and Lao Shi. Lao had, at first, been a bit unconvinced with training the students. He had believed that three weeks would not provide the adequate training that the students would require for their mission and that, at the beginning, they were not making the best progress. Atticus was one to counter this, however. "It's nothing more than a rescue mission, Lao," he would say. "We do not need the students to possess the most sublime combative skills they world has ever witnessed. We shall leave that to the more experienced dragons and magical creatures..."

"If there is one thing I have learned in my opposition of malignant forces," replied Lao Shi calmly, "it is to never underestimate anything. Suppose the Reich should send out their top forces to counter the rescue effort. The children would be sitting ducks with no means of defending themselves!"

And so, Lao Shi decided to provide the eight with enough training to help make them as formidable as possible. This took place twice a day, for approximately four hours each session. There were certain days wherein there would be special sessions held by Atticus and his associates, the black-suited men and women whom had brought the students to the academy initially. There were many, although the kids only knew the names of a few– there was, of course, Warburton– the large, muscular African-American man who had visited Jay and Kate. Others included LaGuardia, the red-haired woman that had appeared in Kate's room, and then Kennel, Smith, and Green, whom had picked up Raffi, Shade, Ash, and James. A more mysterious associate was Falco, whom had been the shadowy figure Kay had seen in Philadelphia and had teleported her to the academy. He had been seen only once at the academy– and only briefly, giving him a rather seclusive persona. There were other lesser associates as well. The students had merely seen these sometimes imposing figures in the hallway of the academy– always looking as if they were in a hurry.

These special sessions, supervised and taught by Atticus himself, his associates, or a combination of the two, frequently detailed more of their mission. There were other times as well where Atticus would hold a small "Q+A" about the Reich, as well as provide a glimpse into what they knew about the Reich up to that point.

One night was particularly interesting, as much information about the Reich was revealed. It was a Friday afternoon, during the second week of training. Atticus had rounded up the exhausted students (Lao Shi had made them fly around the academy fifty times for conditioning that morning) and herded them to the now-familiar lobby, where six or seven of Atticus's associates were already waiting.

"So we'll open up the floor now," said Atticus cheerfully. "Is there anything about the Reich that you all would like to know?"

"Alright, this has been bothering me for a while now," James stood up and addressed Atticus. "We know that the Reich is opposing any and all magical creatures. But after hearing about some of the attacks the Reich has made, it sounds to me like they're using magic themselves! Isn't that kind of hypocritical?"

"Excellent question, James!" exclaimed Atticus, his eyes lighting up as if he had been waiting for someone to ask that question for ages. "You're right; it does seem hypocritical. Here's the catch, though– we believe that the Reich is only setting out to abolish those of pure magical blood... those who were born with their abilities, even if said abilities are not obvious at first. The Reich does appear to be using some sort of magic, but only for certain purposes, and furthermore, the Reich seems to be taking this power from some source unbeknownst to us. None of the Reich is of pure magical blood, that can be inferred. They are simply using this source of magical power to destroy all magical creatures– and once their task is complete, their need of this power will be no more, and thus they will likely destroy their source as well. In my opinion, the Reich can be compared to the Huntsclan– they both possess extreme oppositions to the magical community but in some cases are relying on certain magical forces or objects in order to carry out their bidding."

"Wow... so if we were to find this source of power and destroy it," spoke Kay, "would we be able to take out the Reich altogether?"

"Presumably, yes," Atticus answered. "While not all of the Reich's plan seems to be based on magic, it is likely that the Reich would be dealt a critical blow, and thus would be quite vulnerable to attacks. But I would not worry about that right now– your job is to find and rescue the captive dragons, not to single-handedly attempt to take out the Reich completely..."

"Oh... I didn't mean us... just like... people in general, you know?" answered Kay, although it was clear that she had mentioned it with the sole intent of finding the sources– she believed that their group could do it... as did the rest of the group, although they decided to stay quiet.

"I have a question," Shade said after a few moments of silence. "Do we have any idea as to the identities of the members of the Reich? Or if there's a leader?"

Atticus nodded. "We do have a few leads. Kenneth Harrelson, a shape shifter who was in prison for life for murder but escaped about three years ago is said to have a part. There is also Marcus Feisley, a wizard and former member of the WOPW. He slowly went insane and became a rogue a few years back. But perhaps the most intriguing of our leads is that of Adam Sharp."

"Adam Sharp is a former leader of the WOPW," continued Atticus. "He had acquired a reputation of being, at times, reckless in his decisions, as well as extremely persuasive– some say that this was because he used mind-control spells on other organization members in order to get them to support his policies. Whatever the case, he was acquitted of his duties at the age of forty, merely two years after coming to power. That was twenty years ago... so by now, Sharp would look older and would be a bit hard to recognize– which would not be good for the purpose of randomly spotting him somewhere in the world. But we do know this– after his firing as the WOPW's leader, he went underground, vowing to soon have his revenge on those who had "wronged" him– no matter how long it took. And now, it appears that he has finally resurfaced– as the leader of the Reich."

"Okay, now I'm lost," Ash sighed. "All those guys you just mentioned are wizards and shape shifters. But didn't you say that the Reich was not of magical blood?"

"Pure magical blood, Ashleigh. See, here is what many do not know– Adam Sharp was not born with his abilities, nor was Kenneth Harrelson and Marcus Feisley. Harrelson and Sharp both claimed to have developed their powers through freak accidents– you know, the usual suspects like radiation or toxic chemicals. Feisley, however, maintains a different story of his power's origin– a mystical fountain that he discovered while vacationing in Europe. At first, he believed to have found a certain Fountain of Youth– although, instead, it granted to him magical powers," explained Atticus. "Now, talk of this fountain reiterates something I mentioned before. What would that be?"

"Well, you said that the Reich probably got their power from some sort of source...," answered James. "So whatever it is that Feisley found is probably the same thing."

"Precisely," nodded Atticus. "And so, here's my thought– find this fountain, and you basically defeat the Reich! But in order to do this, we need a strong assault force– and if the eight of you are able to free the captive dragons, we may be able to carry out this plan!"

And thus, after that night, the eight students were a bit more informed on the situation– which was a good thing, especially considering that, sans this knowledge, their mission could end in disaster.

An interesting aspect of the next three weeks was the relations among the students of the academy. There was still only one actual relationship that had been initiated at the academy– Kay and Will, who seemed to be getting closer and closer to each other with every day– to such an extent that, as time progressed, there seemed to be a direct correlation with the amount of time Kay would stay out each night. There still were, however, other good relations between the students. For instance, Jay and Kate had begun to bond a bit– what with their being novices with their dragon powers; both could relate easily with one another. Of course, there wasn't any chance of a relationship between the two at that point, as Jay and Laura were still dating– and it could be inferred that both of them were fine with a good friendship anyway.

But not all of the students communicated well with each other. In fact, there were two that seemed to avoid one another– and surprisingly enough, this happened to be Shade and Raffi. It seemed ludicrous to even consider their evasion of each other– after all, hadn't there been something forming between them in the initial days at the academy? It had been evident that Raffi had liked him– but what had happened since? Now they avoided each other as much as they could, rarely speaking to one another.

Nevertheless, with these new relations forming and some dying, the group forged on, growing extremely tight with one another by the end of the three weeks. And thus it came to Saturday night, three weeks to the night on which the students had first been briefed on their mission. It was the eve of their departure to the Reich base in New York, and once again Atticus had called for a special meeting. He claimed, however, that the meeting would be short and to the point– after all, the students did need good rest for their mission.

It was seven o'clock that night and the eight teens, upon returning from dinner, had stepped inside their rooms for hoodies, sweat pants, and other warm clothes. The meeting was to be held outside, after all, and it being about fifty degrees outside, it was not exactly shorts-and-shirt weather. They then congregated outside their dorms, waiting patiently for Jay, who had somehow forgotten shoes (it was not required of students to wear shoes around their dorms, although it was encouraged when in the presence of a teacher) and was still inside his room.

"Eh... you guys go on ahead," said Laura decisively. "I'll wait for him... I have something that I wanted to ask him anyway."

They left, and about three minutes after this, out came Jay with two different shoes on. "I couldn't find my other one... I'm guessing that Shade hid it in the shower again, since he's done that numerous times lately, but frankly, I'm too lazy to check right now."

Laura laughed softly. "Well, it sounds like you've been having fun here, then," she said as the two of them began on their way towards the meeting spot, attempting to catch up with the rest of their group as they did so.

"Yeah! Finding out that I am a dragon has probably been the best thing that has ever happened to me!" replied Jay cheerfully, and put his left arm around Laura as they walked down the hall.

"That's good... I did have a question about that, though...," Laura said thoughtfully.

"A question about what?"

"Well, you know– you being a dragon. How did you not ever know about it before coming here? I mean, surely your parents or grandparents would've told you..."

Jay paused. "See... that's the thing, Laura. They couldn't have told me... because no one else in my family is a dragon."

"Wait... then how–?"

"Eh... life's full of rarities, Laura. Do you remember our lesson from LaGuardia last Thursday about the cases in which a person who was not born a dragon can become one?"

"I remember going. I think I fell asleep, though. That was the day after everyone stayed up really late and played Monopoly, wasn't it?"

"Right. I so owned at that..."

"Sure you did. But yeah... I definitely fell asleep during that lesson."

"Okay," said Jay. "Basically, we learned that in extremely rare cases, a non-magical being can become a magical being."

"Like?"

"Well... falling in a vat of toxic waste, for one..."

"Oh! So you fell in a vat of toxic waste?!" exclaimed Laura.

"Um... no, not exactly. There's a lot of other prerequisites... and I think I know what it was. Do you remember the night of the meteor shower at the community picnic?"

"How could I forget?" said Laura dreamily. "It was the first night we kissed..."

"Yes, it was. And, although neither of us knew it at the time, a kiss between a non-magical and magical being during a meteor shower can grant that non-magical person the same magical powers as that of the one he/she kissed... and that's how I think got my powers."

"Wow...," said Laura with awe, "so... I'm the one responsible for you being a dragon?"

Jay nodded, a sanguine smile painted on his face. Both were laconic until they finally reached their peers outside, but judging by their affable grins, they needn't say anything.

Their meeting place was one that the group had met at only once prior to that night. It was in the back of the academy, on a patio near where the students had congregated and played a game of tag the second night. Tonight, it was merely Lao Shi and Atticus that met them– none of Atticus's associates.

Everyone sat down in the chairs and benches that dotted the patio, facing so that they were looking at their teachers; it was the respectful thing to do.

Atticus spoke first. "Good evening, students. Welcome to what may be your last night here at the academy– the eve of your departure for New York. We shall not keep you long tonight, as we find it necessary for the eight of you to be well-rested before tomorrow. So thus, tonight shall act as a final briefing on your mission. Is everyone present? Yes? Good then."

And so Atticus began to speak, his eyes squinted, for the imminent sunset had lowered directly into his viewpoint, thus creating adverse sight conditions for the old man. Still he was able to maintain eye contact with the group– he always did seem to.

"You shall depart for New York at approximately nine tomorrow morning. Please be sure to lock your dormitories at about eight, before you head down to breakfast. There is no need to gather your belongings in your rooms; you shall retrieve them when you return from your mission. Meet by the front door of the academy at quarter til nine, where Lao Shi and I shall be waiting."

"This is what will occur from there. You all shall transform into your dragon forms, and then you will gather at the front lawn. Waiting there will be a few of my associates, and what will appear to be a large glass bubble. This 'bubble' is actually a high-tech transportation device– and is the means by which you will be getting to New York. You see, it was developed by a few of our top scientists at the academy. It has the distinction of being able to become both invisible and intangible, so it cannot be seen nor be attacked when these powers are activated. You will enter the bubble, and then you shall depart for New York. Your route has already been programmed into the bubble's computers, so you need not worry about anything during your travel."

"The bubble will take flight, traveling at around 400 feet above the ground. This should keep it out of contact with most other objects, although its intangibility will keep it out of contact with anything in its way. Once you arrive in the vicinity of the base, you will touch down in the forest outside the base. From there, you will find a way inside the base, and your mission will commence. Unfortunately, due to concerns with the Reich interrupting our transmission signals, you all will be on your own from there; we will be unable to assist you."

This came as a bit of a shock to the group. They had figured that Atticus, Lao Shi, or someone else at the academy would assist them while inside the base. But it did make sense– they could not afford to be caught inside, nor could they always rely on their teachers. This was their time to shine– and they needed to go at it alone.

"After you free the captives, proceed outside and back to your transportation as quickly as possible. You will need not transport the captives, as they will likely retreat to downtown New York, where there is a portal to the Isle of Draco. From there, you will return to the academy, where you shall be congratulated on a job well done and given a reception of some sort, I'd imagine. And from there, who knows? Perhaps you shall stay at the academy further. Perhaps you all will head home, back to a normal life. We cannot know that now, but I can tell you this– in order for any of that to occur, you will need to rest a great deal tonight. So, unless if Lao has anything to add, I suppose you are all dismissed."

"I do have a few things I wish to say," said Lao Shi, "but in the interest of time, I'll save my talk for tomorrow morning."

"In that case, I bid you all good night," Atticus said with a yawn. He bowed to the students, and then to Lao Shi, motioning for the old man to follow him soon after. They departed through the closest doors, and the students could see Atticus speaking feverishly with Lao Shi through one of the windows as they walked off in the direction of the east wing.

For a few moments, the eight kids remained static, no one making any attempts to move, nor to begin conversation– that is, until Ash spoke, "Am I the only one that is totally freezing out here?! Can we _please_ go inside _now_?"

"Yeah, I'm agreein' with Ash here," added Kay. "And even though we did, like, nothing today, I am kinda tired... we should just go relax for a while."

Everyone agreed on this, and together they ventured indoors, embarking on a trek through the academy, which would eventually end with their arrival at their dormitories, thus ending their night and possibly their tenure at the academy for the remainder of their lives.

They paused at an atrium-esque clearing along the way, a few yards from the cafeteria. James slumped down in one of the many padded couches that were lined about the clearing. "Yeah... I vote we crash here for a while. I don't really feel like going back to the dorms just yet..."

This must've sounded appealing to the rest of them, as they took seats around where James had set up camp. "Wow... I really can't believe this!" exclaimed Kate. "We're finally gonna get a chance to fight against the Reich tomorrow!"

"It's just a rescue mission, guys," Shade said. "We won't need to do much fighting– if any."

"Aw, c'mon, Shade," Laura replied, "you can't tell me that we're not gonna have to fight! What, do you think that the Reich is just gonna sit back and let us free the captives?!"

"Well... that's what I'm hoping for, yeah."

"Something tells me that it isn't gonna be that easy," said Laura. "Quite frankly, we're gonna have to fight them– I don't see any alternatives. But I DO know that we're ready for just about anything they'll throw at us."

"Yeah...," Raffi chimed in. "I've seen all of us progress so well as a team and as individuals the past three weeks. We've become so tight-knit that I think that we could probably accomplish just about anything! Plus, it's our job... we can't screw this up!"

"Exactly! And you know what would help us the most?" asked James.

"What?"

"Sleep!"

"...James, didn't you just say that you wanted to stay down here for a while before going back up to our dorms?" asked Kay.

"I did say that. But you know what effect these couches have on me... I'll probably fall asleep if I sit here anymore! And judging by the looks of you guys, I think you'll do the same."

"You know, he does have a point...," Jay added. "Remind me when we get back from our mission to come down here. Maybe I can get Atticus to sell me one..."

Everyone laughed lightly, standing up from the sleep-inducing couches. They were about to leave, but before they could, they were stopped by a voice from behind them.

"Shouldn't you children be in bed right now?"

It was Falco, the associate of Atticus who had become quite elusive and mysterious since he first made his presence known to the students. His long, messy, brown hair hung low over his eyes, which were still covered by a pair of black sunglasses– even though it was nighttime and he was inside. He stood there, his arms crossed, waiting for an answer.

"Um... sorry, Mr. Falco... we were just heading in that direction," Shade said.

Falco nodded. "As long as you're heading that way, it is good." He paused for a moment, before speaking again. "Listen to me, children, I want you to be extremely careful on your mission. Do NOT let your guards down. There are things about the Reich that you do not know... things you do not WANT to know about. You cannot underestimate them, even if your mission is simply a rescue mission. Remember that. Good luck, our saviors." And with these words, he bowed slightly to them and left hastily, as if he had somewhere he desperately needed to be.

"Well... you heard the creepy man! Let's go!" Ash exclaimed. Everyone murmured in agreement, and seven of them began on their way back to the dorms.

Shade was the one to notice that one of their group was missing. Turning back to where they had been sitting previously, he spotted none other than Raffi, staring absentmindedly out a nearby window.

"Hey Raffi... are you coming?" Shade asked.

"Oh! Um... yeah, I am. I was just... thinking about some stuff."

"Right... is it about tomorrow?" he inferred, walking up so that he stood directly beside Raffi– to provide reassurance, should need be.

"Actually... no, I'm pretty fine with tomorrow," Raffi said. "It's... well..."

"What? You can tell me..."

"You."

Time stopped in Shade's head. His mind seemed to be a mess of thoughts and hopes. _Did she just say... me? _He thought. "Me?"

"Yeah... you," Raffi said sheepishly. "Maybe I hadn't made it obvious the first few days we were here, but... I totally like you. I kept trying to tell you, but it seemed like every time I tried, I either chickened out or something interrupted me."

Shade said nothing. Raffi continued.

"And then there was that whole episode when we were watching The Notebook... the drooling thing. I was so embarrassed after that happened... I didn't want to talk to you because I thought that you felt I was a total loser because of that. I had never acted like this around anyone before... mainly because I've never felt this way about anyone. From the time we got sent here to the academy to when you rescued me during training... I knew that, to be truthful, I loved you. And I didn't know if you felt the same way, so I never said anything... until now."

She sighed. "I'm sorry, Shade. I shouldn't have said anything... I guess I was just acting on impulse, and... yeah, I guess that's about it."

"...Raffi..."

It was the first time Shade had spoken since Raffi had spilled her feelings for him. It was odd, his tone– a mix of confusion, of shock– but also a hint of relief.

"...forgive me, Raffi."

"What for...?"

"For not being a man and saying anything sooner. For keeping you in doubt and anticipation for all this time. For not saying how I felt about you, as well..."

"And what's that...?" Raffi asked, her eyes wide with hopefulness as her gaze met Shade's.

"Lean in closer, and I'll tell you."

Raffi did so, slowly. Shade drew in a breath, as if he was about to say something further. But apparently, he decided against it. He leaned in slowly, until his lips met Raffi's. And they kissed– a bit reluctantly, as if neither had ever experienced anything like it before. But even with the novice aura, it nevertheless still looked and felt...right. It felt as if, perhaps, this was the way it was supposed to be all along.

Maybe it was.

(End)

It is amazing to see how, in times of dire need, sometimes the least likely suspects can become those who will one day right all the wrongs and set everything straight. This instance was no different. A new group of young adults, some novices in the mentioned field, were to be the saviors of many. Even if their mission was simply to free a few captives, it was apparent that, when Lao Shi trained them, he knew that this was not to be their only mission.

But what of this surrogate cavalry? Would it be successful? Or would they perish, not once being able to live out the best years of their lives, nor being able to carry out the one mission that they had been given?

Only time would tell.

END PART ONE


	7. Chapter 7

The Dragon Chronicles

Pt. 2- The Rescue Mission

Ch. 1- The Departure

"Nightmare, this is crazy! Wait up!" cried Daydream's voice as she followed close behind her brother, who was in a long gait ahead of her as they raced through the thick, dense forest that was just one of many that were spread throughout Pennsylvania. They weaved in and out and around trees, running along on all fours as their clan, the Quietus Draco clan, was known for.

Nightmare said nothing. His red eyes remained transfixed on the white figure in front of him. It was a member of the Reich, and he knew it.

The trees soon gave way to a large clearing in the forest. Nightmare stopped in the middle, with Daydream right behind him. The duo stared around, having lost the white-robed figure they had been chasing.

There came a loud crash. A tree had fallen behind them. Nightmare and Daydream whirled around, and found the very figure they had been chasing.

"Oops, pardon me," laughed the figure sinisterly. "Had to get your attention somehow…"

"Oh, you've got my attention, all right," snarled Nightmare. "And now, for what you did to my brethren, my clansmen, you shall PAY!"

Nightmare lunged at the white hooded member of the Reich, but was sent sprawling backwards in mere moments. The figure chuckled malevolently, and he was joined in laughter by four other voices.

"Uh… Nightmare, we've got a problem," whispered Daydream as she stared at her surroundings. The bodies belonging to the four other voices had appeared all around the clearing, in a pentagon-like shape…

"NO!" screamed Nightmare. The five Reich members' hands had begun to glow white, and the ground they stood on had taken on the same glow.

Desperately, Daydream headed for a clearing that was untouched by the Reich members. But once she hit the boundaries of the white light, she, too, was thrown backwards.

The white light brightened, consuming all within its reaches. There came a sound of screaming from within the light—two voices, male and female. "Oh, how I've always loved that sound…," growled the Reich member who had led the two siblings into this trap.

There was a final flash of blinding white light that careened through the night. And then… nothing.

(End)

The news that Raffi and Shade were going out spread rather quickly, which was surprising, considering that the majority of the group had pretty much gone straight to bed as soon as they had returned to their dorms. Still, despite this, everyone seemed to act as if this newly-formed relationship was old news the next morning, as the eight gathered in the long corridor outside of their rooms. Perhaps it was because the bond itself was not all that surprising—they all had seen it coming, especially after the first few days at the academy, what with the constant flirting, the way one would look at the other when the other when the other was not looking, and, most of all, Raffi's reaction to her being rescued by Shade from impending death during their first official training session. How could it not have happened sooner or later?—it already appeared as if their lives had been intertwined in numerous ways anyway.

"Long night, Jay?" Ash asked as Jay stepped groggily from his dorm. He was the last to join them in the hallway.

"Oh, you have no idea…," Jay answered as the group began on their way to breakfast. "I'm thinking I got a total of two hours of sleep last night—I was worried about today and all, you know?"

"Worried?" scoffed James. "About what? This is just a rescue mission… all we've gotta do is go in there and free us some dragons! What is there to be worried about?"

"Come on, James, you can't honestly think that this is gonna be a walk in the park…," Kay said calmly. "There are so many things that could go wrong… most notably, in my opinion, the possibility that we could easily get caught and sent to the same confinement as the current captives are already in!"

"I know there are risks. I'm just trying to have some faith, y'know?"

"Faith is a good thing to have…," added Shade. "In fact, I couldn't agree more. But right now, could we not think about the mission? I just want to try and enjoy the last hours we have in this place before we go into mission-mode…"

Everyone silently agreed, most simply nodding in approval as they continued down the same hallways that had become a touchstone in their lives at the academy. Often, their walks down these corridors were filled with reflections on either the events that were to occur that day or those that had already occurred. And this particular walk was no different—the students held with them a certain somberness that they had expected since day one—it could be their final journey down these corridors, and furthermore their first great test of their dragon abilities was to come soon.

And breakfast was much of the same. In the past the group had been slightly more talkative, but this morning they were much quieter—more determined, as it were. Even Raffi and Shade, mere hours removed from the profession of their affection for each other, did not speak, although they did sit next to each other—something they had not done before.

In fact, the only member of the group that made any sort of conversation whatsoever was Kay—and this was because she was getting a final few words with her 'summer love' fling, Will. And it was actually somewhat of a depressing conversation anyway, for the two of them were basically speaking of how it was possible that they would not see each other again, should they fail their mission.

They knew it would be somewhat difficult, but never did the eight dragon students believe that it would be this hard to leave the academy—that is, until that morning.

Finally, it was time to venture outside, to meet with Lao Shi and Atticus Stevenson, and to depart for New York. The group stepped out slowly into the warm rays of sunlight which were splashing down onto the ground, illuminating the surrounding area and emitting a certain sense of joy and hope—as if to say that this day was not a day on which to be unhappy, but a day to be glad, for a new chapter in their lives was about to begin.

Just as they had said, Lao Shi, Atticus Stevenson, and seemingly all of Atticus's associates (including many that they had never seen before) were waiting for them on the front lawn of the academy. Beside them also was the huge bubble-like structure that Atticus had described the night before—and his description was quite accurate; it was basically a large see-through sphere with somewhat of a silvery tint to it, making it visible.

James glanced down at his watch. "Five 'til nine," he announced, shading his eyes from the bright sun and staring around at the rest of the group. "Master Shi claimed that we were leaving right at nine… so unless we want to be late, we'd better…"

"That would be correct," interrupted Atticus as he strode up to the group. "We've got your transportation set to leave exactly at nine and not a moment later. And we wouldn't want for you all to effectively 'miss your bus,' would we?"

Thinking this to be a rhetorical question (as many of Atticus's seemed to be as of late), no one responded in any way verbally or otherwise, which led Atticus to sigh deeply. "The correct response would be "No, Mr. Stevenson, we wouldn't want that." What, did you believe me to be asking a rhetorical question?"

No one responded again for a few seconds, before Raffi spoke, "Okay… so was that meant to be…"

"Yes it was," answered Atticus. "I am glad to see that we are on the same page now. Let us proceed…"

And at this, Atticus turned and began toward the bubble, the students following quickly in tow. A few moments passed before Kennel, the brown-haired associate of Atticus's, hurried up to him. "Sir, the transportation vehicle is fully prepared," he said breathlessly.

"Very good," Atticus nodded to him.

"Furthermore, sir, Falco is requesting that he provide the children with a quick tour of the vehicle before departure. With your permission…?"

"Ah, I don't see why not. Emerson was the mastermind behind the structure after all, wasn't he? Tell him that the children shall be joining him momentarily."

Kennel saluted Atticus with his right hand to his forehead, as if he was for a moment emulating a lowly private in the military, and trotted off to the bubble, weaving through an assortment of people, from the familiar black-suited men and women to white-coated scientists or scrappy-looking mechanics carrying around what appeared to be some rather high-tech equipment. If one didn't know any better, one would believe them to be at a toned-down space shuttle launching.

"Well then, best we press on rather quickly, I suppose," said Atticus hurriedly. "Kindly meet with Master Shi before entering your transportation. I'm sure that he has a few quick words of encouragement before your departure." At these words, Atticus, too, hurried off, presumably in the direction of Smith, Green, Warburton, and LaGuardia, who were standing in a tightly-knit circle a few paces away.

Lao Shi was idle in his wheelchair near the 'entrance' of the bubble, which was merely a small hatch-like door close to the bottom of the spherical-shaped object. He did not seem to notice them at first, evident when he did not acknowledge the group's presence when they neared him.

"Um… Master Shi?" said Kate cautiously.

Lao Shi reacted as if he had snapped out of a deep trance, for he appeared startled when he heard Kate's voice. "Oh, er, yes, Kate? What do you need?"

"Mr. Stevenson sent us… he said you would want to see us before we left."

"And with all due respect, Master Shi," added James, "could you make your wise words short today? We only have four minutes. So, like, no big words so Ash can understand, and…"

"I have eight until nine," Lao Shi said, staring down at his own watch, "and it is on time with the academy's clocks. I do recall imploring you, James, to set your watch with the academy's clocks as well, did I not?"

"Well… yeah, but at least I was never late to class, right?"

"I suppose so. Ah, but I do not think that it matters much at this moment. And furthermore, eight minutes is still not much time, and you all still need a quick tour of your transportation…"

"Right. Falco's supposed to be showing us around… supposedly he knows a lot about it," said Shade.

"Ah, yes, Atticus said that he might. Well then, I won't keep you much longer." Lao Shi stared around at the crowd of men and women, mostly black-suited, surrounding him. "Now, this is what I wanted you all to know.

"The eight of you, I must say, have made immeasurable progress throughout the past few weeks. I admit, I was a bit skeptical at first of your abilities, and I was foolish to think this. You children truly are our saviors, and I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you, Master Shi," said Ash appreciatively. Everyone followed this with spoken gratitude of their own.

"Why, you are very welcome," replied Lao Shi, his radiant eyes gleaming at them. "And it was my sincere privilege to have mentored all of you. As I once said to my grandson… I am proud to have been your Dragon Master."

At these words, the old man was silent, his gaze seeming to scrutinize the ground before him. He did not mention Jake often—in fact, not in about two weeks—and having brought up the captive American Dragon, he had been rendered speechless. And, as if they, too, could not find the words to say, the eight students stood there silently. They knew that one of them needed to say something—and quick, for the time of their departure was rapidly approaching.

Finally, Kay walked over reluctantly to Lao Shi, resting one hand on his arm and the other on the handle of his wheelchair. "Don't worry, Master Shi," she said calmly, "we'll get Jake back. It's our duty, and you've taught us well…"

A few moments passed. Lao Shi said nothing, and nor did Kay or any of the students, for that matter. Finally, Lao Shi looked up, and gazed around at each of them separately. He said nothing at first, although his eyes told the story—they seemed to say that he knew that they would free Jake from his unspeakable prison, and he was truly grateful for this.

"Ah, look, I've kept you long enough," he said finally. "Look, Falco is waiting for you, so I suggest that you go now. Goodbye, children," he paused, "…and good luck."

But they had not heard these final words spoken after the pause, as the group had already left quickly on their way to meet Falco. He was standing quietly outside the large bubble, staring straight ahead at the approaching students, having no latent involvement with those around him. If one did not know better, one might describe him as a statue.

When they reached Atticus's most mysterious (and this was saying a lot) associate, he said nothing at first but simply turned and walked inside the small door into the bubble. At this action, the students were stunned. Although the bubble was seemingly transparent, as they had expected it to be, they could not see Falco inside once he entered. It instead retained its transparent state, as if nothing had ever entered or was contained within its boundaries. The students reluctantly followed, knowing not the magic or technology (or both) that was present there.

The entrance to the bubble was more of a hatch, as stated earlier, elevated off of the ground by about two feet. The group stepped up into the hatch, having lost sight of Falco momentarily. At first, the inside area was a narrow corridor surrounded on either side by large, metallic walls that were remarkably akin to computer panels. The corridor ended about twenty feet from the entrance, emptying out into a massive opening, a globular room whose arched walls extended all the way up to what seemed to be the top of the bubble. There were medium-sized windows all around the inside (which did not make much sense, considering that the windows showed what was directly outside of the bubble, even though they were twenty feet towards the center of the bubble), and where there were not windows, there were gray carpeted walls on one side, and imposing supercomputers which spat forth tons of somewhat meaningless (to the students) data on the other. There were six chairs positioned at the computers, and in some were seated a few black-suited and white-robed characters, seemingly making their final observations and checks of the computer system before the departure. The center of the room was vastly empty, with only a white marble floor, and this was where Falco stood, facing the group.

"Children, behold my most valuable creation," he began, not seeming to wait for the attentiveness of the dragon students. "Its name is quite long and I dare not want to keep the lot of you waiting much longer (for your departure is now imminent), so in short you may call it the Globe. It is a spectacular structure, if I do say so myself—a crowning achievement in the fields of both technology and modern magic.

"As you have likely noticed, the Globe is currently in a transparent state, in which it is visible but its contents cannot be seen. This mode will be deactivated at your departure, however, and the Globe's abilities of both invisibility and intangibility will take its place. Since the Globe will be in an auto-pilot state during your travel, you need not pilot it nor activate any of its special features. In fact, I recommend that none of you lay even a finger on any of the computers throughout your entire trip. Should there be any alert to safety (although I do not believe it shall come to this, considering that the Globe cannot be picked up on any radar known to man), the Globe will activate its defense system.

"Now, are there any quick questions? I am aware that you all have already have been briefed on your mission, so I believe there is nothing more to say on that matter. But, just in case… do you perhaps have a question for me about this wonderful facility?"

The group stared around. Truly, they had no further questions, but it could've been because of their trepidation of the event that would succeed the moment. Their rescue mission, their first true test, was approaching quickly.

"No further questions? Good, then," in the matter of a few seconds, Falco's voice had gone from cheerful to grave, mysterious, and full of despair—much like he normally was. "Now, children, before you leave, there is something greatly important I must tell you…"

But at these words, a bright red light flashed, and a clear, feminine, robotic voice rang out, "One minute until departure. I repeat, one minute until departure. All personnel please clear the area. I repeat, fifty-five seconds until departure…" The bright red light continued flashing at two second increments, and the associates seated at the computers scattered and hurried to the narrow corridor.

Falco was momentarily paralyzed. Judging by his facial expression, he had intended upon relating to the students a very important piece of information, something that would alter their view of their mission. But this momentary lapse did not appear to phase Falco completely, and he attempted to begin again, "What I meant to say was…"

"…forty-five seconds…"

"I have some suspicions about the mission…"

"Forty seconds."

Falco was getting panicky. His eyes flickered briefly towards the exit. It was apparent that, for whatever reason, he could not be left aboard at departure.

"Thirty seconds."

Finally, the man seemed to give up. He took a few steps in the direction of the corridor exit, before pausing, "Just be careful, okay? I'll… see you all when you get back."

In mere seconds Falco was gone, having exited the hatch-like door and closing it with approximately twenty seconds remaining. At ten seconds, the countdown reverted to a backwards countdown. "Is this a bad time to mention that I've never flown before?" Jay whispered to Laura. She punched him playfully, leading him to give her a stunned look and followed this by saying, "No, really…"

At zero, the feminine voice was silenced, and the students felt the sensation of being lifted upwards, similar to that of an ascending elevator. The eight of them rushed over to the windows, staring out at the green landscape that was dotted mostly with black-suited men and women. Atticus Stevenson stood amidst them, flashing a stern grin at them and raising his left arm in farewell. LaGuardia, Kennel, Smith, Green, Warburton, and Falco surrounded the old man, with the latter nodding to each of the dragon students in a manner that seemed to wish them the best of luck. Gone was hus suspicious behavior that had surfaced just a few moments prior. Or, that is, if these deviances were still present, Falco was doing a very good job in curbing them. (It should be noted that, although the Globe was still at this moment transparent, the windows were viewable from the outside if someone appeared in them, so you basically have to imagine seeing eight disembodied heads on the side of the bubble.) Once they looked further beyond Atticus and the other associates, they could see Lao Shi. An associate had wheeled him (and struggled at this task, by the looks of it) back to the pavement of the driveway, and now their Dragon Master stared up at them neutrally, showing no real emotion. It was likely that he was still in thought about his grandson, Jake Long, one of the many dragons they were enlisted to rescue. But none of this neither surprised nor flattered the group more than the sight they saw next. Standing transfixed behind Lao Shi were the other students at the academy! About a hundred of them, even those whom the eight had never met, were waving at them, others shouting out words that were lost in the general din, combined with the fact that it was very hard to hear anything from inside the Globe. The Globe had begun floating in the direction of the school, north, because of its place on the bubble-like aircraft's flight pattern. As such, the dragons were able to catch a better glimpse of the other academy students. They recognized a few of the students as those who had been present in their various classes at the academy. There was the tall, muscular wizard in their Anatomy class who had passed out at the sight of unicorn blood. And over by the door was the shape shifter who once got stuck in the form of a catfish (and was out of water at the time, I might add) for two days. And look, there was Will Hughes and his friends! Will looked up at Kay, smiled warmly, and blew her a kiss. Kay beamed back, and the two's eyes seemed to be locked for the next few seconds.

The group was still looking out of the window a few minutes later, when merely the academy's white walls were visible amidst a flurry of trees. It was a sobering few moments, as a few wondered that, should the unthinkable soon happen, would this be the last time they would see the proud school? These thoughts still circulating in their minds, they watched as the white walls became more and more distant, until the school was no longer visible.

At this same moment, those remaining at the school had begun to head back inside, as they were still on a rather tight academic schedule that day. Most of the people outside scattered, but there was an exception. Two, actually.

Atticus had remained, staring at the Globe, which was now a faint glimmer in the distance (although even this was difficult to see). Falco had remained as well, and after a few moments, spoke to Atticus. "Mr. Stevenson, I'm worried."

Atticus chuckled. "Emerson, I thought we had gotten over this. The children shall be fine."

"Sir, I have no doubt that the children can handle themselves. What I am concerned about is the place they're going."

"Oh?" said Atticus a bit uninterested. He began walking towards the academy.

"Yes, sir. I think that our suspicions may not have been accurate. I'm not so sure that this base is where the captives are truly being held."

"Oh, come now, Emerson, we looked into it ourselves—the captives are there, we just know it."

"I know that, but don't you think it was a bit strange that this base just popped up on our radars and in our computer system. I'm just concerned… you know, Mr. Stevenson, the Reich could have a spy inside the academy. It's possible that they planted that base as a trap!"

But Atticus, apparently, had not heard this. He instead continued walking, humming a merry little tune to himself as he went, leaving Falco there in silence. The man sighed and took off the sunglasses that he always wore (even in the presence of Atticus) to reveal two brilliant green eyes. He stared off in the distance, towards where the Globe had gone, squinting just in time to see the aircraft fade as the invisibility kicked in, as it disappeared over the horizon.

END CHAPTER


	8. Chapter 8

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 2: The Rescue Mission

Chapter 2: Changing the World

Sunlight streamed in through the windows of the massive bubble-like structure called the Globe, causing the room which contained the eight dragon students to become brighter than it had been previously. Below them was a thick forest, a sampling of the dense backwoods of Pennsylvania. Beyond them, not visible at this point, was the Stevenson Academy of Excellence, the place from which they had just departed. The Globe was now, as Falco had said it would be, both intangible and invisible, evidenced by the fact that just a few moments prior, the Globe had literally gone through a tree. Thus, the journey was underway.

The group was relatively spread evenly throughout the sole room of the Globe. There was a trio in the center of the room, Kate, James, and Kay, who were playfully utilizing their dragon powers on each other—in a minor manner, of course; not nearly enough to hurt one another…more for the shock factor. (Plus, they figured that if anyone was burnt badly, Kate could bestow upon the afflicted her power of healing so that a major injury could be avoided. The flaw in this plan was that Kate had not yet figured out how to use this power, let alone tried to. James found this out the hard way.) Laura and Jay sat nearby on the floor, Laura's back propped up against Jay's right shoulder. They sat silently observing the amusing occurrence that had presented itself before them. Ash was alone, transfixed upon the massive supercomputers on the one side of the room. She sat in one of the chairs, mesmerized by the thousands of numbers that fleeted across the screen. She did not touch the computers' equally large keyboards—Falco had warned against this—but the urge to do so, to see what exactly would happen, was becoming increasingly overwhelming. Shade and Raffi had taken up a spot underneath a window, up against the wall. They were not speaking—in fact, both appeared to be sleeping, seeing that their eyes were closed. If this was the case, they had fallen asleep holding hands.

This went on for a good while. The trio on the floor ceased to amuse themselves with their powers thereafter, and thus a blanket of silence fell over the room. It could be inferred that this silence was a direct result of the imminence of their arrival at New York. One hour had passed at this point, and according to a rundown clock on one of the computer screens, there was a mere forty-five minutes remaining. (Given, of course, that it actually was a clock and not something like an accidentally-activated self-destruction countdown.)

"So… I guess it's about time, eh?" spoke Kay finally.

James, Kate, and Ash, who had joined their little group, nodded in agreement. The other four were silent, although given the circumstances their outlook on the matter was likely the same.

After a few moments of additional silence, Jay said, "Well… we should probably get this whole thing planned out, then."

Everyone turned to Shade expectantly. It was obvious that, once again, they considered him their leader, and thus expected him to administer the talks.

Shade sighed, not wanting to give up his spot with Raffi. He stood, and began pacing methodically nearby. "Well, where to begin?"

"Atticus said that we were gonna be landing a ways from the actual building," Kate said. "Do you think that the Reich will be patrolling the area around the building?"

"It's a possibility," replied Shade thoughtfully. "So we'll need to proceed stealthily. So maybe we shouldn't go into our dragon forms immediately—we can hide ourselves easier that way."

"Sounds good, but we would need to find the place first," Jay added. "Because, unless I missed something, no one indicated which way to go once we exit the Globe. For all we know, we could walk in the wrong direction for miles, and then we'd be lost because we wouldn't be able to find the Globe because of its invisibility!"

"Yeah, that's true!" said Ash. "I mean, suppose we do go the right way, make it inside, free the dragons, and make it out alive. How will we find the Globe once we leave?"

"Falco said that the Globe would revert back to its visible state once we land, guys," Shade said. "In fact, that's one of the main reasons we're landing so far away—so that the Globe can't be seen. It'd probably be a bit suspicious to the Reich if they found some huge mutant bubble sitting in the middle of the woods, wouldn't it?—especially if it wasn't there just five minutes prior."

"I guess that's what twigs, branches, and leaves are for," said Raffi. "Maybe we could camouflage it the best we could so that it couldn't be seen very well but we could still know where it is. That's all I can really think of…"

"Great idea," nodded Shade. "That's what we'll do, then. Everyone be ready when we get off, in that case—we'll have to make it as quick as possible."

"So then what about finding the Globe?" Kay asked. "Couldn't one of us go dragon and fly up into the air so that we can find out exactly where the building is? I would think that that would be a bit easier… it'd at least save us the pain of trial and error by searching on the ground."

"Unfortunately, it's not that easy," James countered. "The Reich probably will have some sort of monitoring system for the sky. I'm not saying that they will for sure, but we can't take the chance of someone going up there and maybe getting, you know, shot or something."

"That's right. I guess then the only way to find the building will be trial and error," Shade sighed. "That is, unless we can somehow see it as we're landing, which is dependant on our altitude and where we actually do land."

The group was silent after this, which provoked Shade to, after a few moments, question them, "Is there anything else anyone wants to say?"

"I'm not so sure there really is anything else we can plan at this moment," replied Laura. "I mean, think about it—we don't know anything else about the place besides the fact that it's surrounded by a chain-link fence and that the front door is usually locked. Judging by what Atticus said, we should be able to make it over the fence and to the door without a problem; it's unlocking the door that might be the problem. And then, if we actually do make it inside, we know absolutely nothing about what is inside. It sounds to me like we're gonna simply have to look at this impulsively and do everything on the fly. We cannot plan for what we do not know."

"Good call," Shade murmured. "In that case, I guess that's really it. Should we have some sort of signal in case one of us is in distress?"

"Yeah, I've got one— "Help me, dammit!"." said Ash. "I mean, is there any other option? Just scream your brains out until someone finds you."

"I'm liking that idea," Kay said.

"Okay, whatever you think is best," nodded Shade. "I really hope it doesn't come to that, though—hopefully we'll all be able to stay together the whole time. That way, if one of us is in trouble, everyone will know. Everyone got it?"

The eight gave words of agreement and comprehension. "Only fifteen minutes 'til touchdown," Ash spoke suddenly. "I'm totally feeling a pep talk and group huddle right now. Anyone agree?"

"Might as well. It'd get us focused," agreed Raffi. The rescue cavalry all met together at the center of the room, arms around one another, heads bowed.

"I open up the floor for anyone to speak," Shade said. "And, please, let's try to keep it encouraging. I know how some of you can be sometimes…"

"What, do you think I'm gonna make fun of James and how he got burned already today by Kay even before we go inside?" laughed Kate.

"That's precisely what I meant, yeah."

"I might as well get it out of my system, then. James, don't hurt yourself, alright?"

"I second that," grinned Ash.

"Now, now, Ash," said James lightly, "I do recall that you're the only person that ever actually got hurt during one of our training sessions. So, touché."

"Heh, well, as long as there's no evil little robotic spiders, I should be good," Ash stated.

"Nah. Just ants."

"Well, if you want to get down to it, those things could've passed as ants as well."

"They had six legs, though," Jay said.

"Sorry, I make it a point to not study the anatomies of animals," muttered Ash.

"Alright, is the making fun of Ash and James urge out of our systems?" said Shade, annoyed. "I mean, I'd kinda like to get on with this so we're ready when we touch down."

At first, no one else said anything, possibly somewhat taken aback at the slight reprimanding that Shade had allocated. "Well, I'd like to say something…," Raffi whispered, raising her hand slightly to get her point across.

"Go for it," Shade said shortly.

"Thanks. Guys, I just want to ask you one question," Raffi paused for a moment after these words, and then began again. "Did you see the look on Master Shi's face when he told us about his grandson, Jake, being captured? Could you hear the despair in his voice? Master Shi truly cares for this boy, the American Dragon. And somewhere out there, there are others who feel the same way about the ninety other dragons that are being held captive.

"Think about it—we have a chance to bring happiness into these people's lives again! In our hands rests the very threads that are currently holding these families together. Wouldn't it be amazing if we would be known forever in their lives as the eight kids that saved their son, daughter, or loved one's life? Wouldn't it be amazing if we could go on with our lives knowing that we ultimately saved a lot of lives, and possibly the entire magical world?"

"She's right!" Shade continued. "Guys, we have the fate of the entire magical world on our shoulders. If we fail, then we're just another victory and step forward for the Reich in their conquering of the magical world. But if we succeed, we might just be responsible for the turning point in this undeclared war. If we can free these dragons, and they can in turn go in and defeat the Reich, we will have played a large part in something even larger. When those dragons are up on a majestic platform at the Isle of Draco, being recognized as those who preserved our very existence, they will be able to mention that none of it would have been possible without us! Hell, we might even be able to fight alongside them!"

"So, what do you say, guys?" resumed Raffi. "Are you ready to change the world?"

"World notoriety does sound nice," Kate said pensively.

"Yeah, think of all the benefits and awards we might get!" said James ecstatically.

"On this note," Shade announced, "does anyone else have anything to say?"

"Oh, I've got something," yelled Laura. "Let's kick some white-robed Reich ass!"

"And get home before dinner tonight!" Ash interjected.

"Is that all you can think about now?" laughed Kay.

"It's totally pizza night. How could I not?!"

"You're right. That does sound good."

"Focus, guys," Raffi said quietly.

"We so need a group name," Kate piped up.

"Yeah! How about the Panda Bears?" Laura said.

"Oh yeah, that would certainly strike fear into the hearts of the Reich," said a sarcastic Jay. "I say we should call ourselves The Essence."

"We don't want to confuse them," James countered. "We need something… good."

"Master Shi's Soldiers?" Kay declared.

"I like it!" said Shade. "We could shorten it to the Soldiers for length purposes as well…"

"All in favor of Master Shi's Soldiers?" announced Raffi. It was a unanimous 'yes.'

"Alright then. Everyone put your hands together," Shade exclaimed, raising one of his hands into the air above the middle of the circle. The rest of the group followed suit, meeting their hands with his. "Soldiers on three!"

"Can't we do 'four on three'?" said James. "You know… 1,2,3…4!!"

"No."

"Fine."

"1…2…3…"

"SOLDIERS!"

The group broke apart. It was immediately following this that they separated into smaller groups—talking lightly for the final time, as the landing was imminent.

"Be careful, alright?" said Laura to Jay in a concerned manner.

"The same to you," he replied, and kissed her softly on the forehead. "You mean everything to me, babe… I couldn't stand to lose you."

Kate nodded back. At that moment, there was a quick flash of a different emotion in her eyes, something that seemed to be triggered by Jay, although it could not be pinpointed and was gone within milliseconds.

"Good luck, guys," James said to Kate, Ash, and Kay. "Here's to hoping that we actually do get back before dinner. Damn, Ash, you made me hungry now…"

"Yeah, well, it was the least I could do," grinned Ash. "Plus, they were gonna have coffee cake tonight, Kay…"

"…let's do this."

"Raffi…," Shade whispered to his girlfriend a few paces away, "I'm sure you already know what I'm gonna say, eh?"

"Be careful?"

"Well, that, of course. But then… I'd also like to say that I can't wait to fight alongside you today."

"We had to in class often, though, remember?"

"It didn't mean anything, though. This does."

Raffi embraced Shade in a tight hug. "Whatever happens, don't forget this one thing."

"What's that," asked Shade.

"I love you."

(End)

Down the hall, Lao Shi could see that a large door was open. A door that would pose a difficulty to get past once he reached it. "These kids and their inability to close doors," the old man sighed. "I will simply have to close it for them, then…"

But as he neared the door, one thing became increasingly apparent: "Wait, this is one of those 'Academy Personnel Only' doors—the ones that Atticus will not, for some reason, let me into."

He was right. The door had the very phrase Lao Shi had just repeated in black letters at its top. These doors were normally locked. However, this once, as fate would have it, the door was open.

Lao Shi wheeled around the door, and then peered into the doorway. It was dark inside, although he could make out a flight of stairs leading downward and what appeared to be an elevator right next to it. "Perhaps Atticus's office is somewhere down here. I would like to speak with him about a few things, actually."

Thus, he wheeled inside, pressing a button next to the supposed elevator. A door rolled open, and Lao Shi went inside, although not before being courteous enough as to shut the door behind him. "I do wish Atticus had told me about this earlier…," he said. The elevator door closed.

(End)

The landing had occurred.

Prior to this, the group had been crowded at the windows of the Globe, trying desperately to spot the building they would be venturing to—although, unfortunately, these attempts had been futile.

A few moments after the Globe touched down onto the ground, they could hear the entrance and exit hatch opening. Their time had come. They would have to be quick.

"Everyone hurry and get out!" Shade instructed. "Once you're outside, try and find any large fallen branches with leaves still on them!"

They shuffled outside. The Globe had touched down in a small clearing (and by small, I mean just large enough to fit the Globe) in the woods, and thus there were trees all around. It could not be that hard to find some leaves and branches in this case, could it?

"Wait, guys," Kate said as everyone was about to depart to find some camouflage.

"What is it?" asked Shade.

"I want to try something… it might make our job a lot easier," she replied. She turned to the Globe and stood completely still. "Dragon up," she whispered, and her body was covered with the now-familiar green vines. Moments later, they fell away, revealing Kate in her dark-green dragon form. She then put her two arms out in front of her, claws outstretched. She raised her right arm and motioned it inward. As if on cue, a tree that stood to the right of the Globe bent to the left, until it was covering the right side of the Globe. Kate followed suit with a tree on the left side, and seconds later the Globe was barely visible.

"Amazing," said Raffi breathlessly.

"Yeah, powers over the earth can come in handy sometimes, I guess," Kate acknowledged as she turned toward the group and reverted back to human form. "Figured it was the least I could do."

"Great job, Kate," Shade nodded. "Now we just need to know where to go…"

The group looked around. From no direction could they see anything that looked remotely like a building. Just… trees.

Suddenly, Jay spoke. "It's this way, guys," he said, gesturing to the east.

"Jay, how do you know?" asked Laura.

Jay did not answer, for he had already begun in the direction of where he had gestured—and rather quickly, I must add. Somewhat reluctantly, the group followed. "Someone make sure that we're keeping track of where we're going," announced Raffi. "We need to know which way to come when we leave."

"I've got it," Kay said, and the group picked up the pace thereafter, as Jay had unexpectedly broken into a slight jog.

Minutes later, they could see that Jay had stopped ahead. He was standing at a large fence. Beyond it was a bluish building. This was it; Jay had found the Reich stronghold.

"Way to go, Jay," Shade congratulated him as soon as they reached him, out of breath.

"How did you know where to go?" asked Laura as she slumped around his waist.

"I just had this feeling, you know? I really don't know what it was, exactly…"

"Well, whatever the case, we're here now," James said. "Now, how shall we go about getting over this fence?"

"Well, I would imagine that we should fly over…," Kay said. "Atticus said that the shape shifter that had been assigned to this place had been able to fly all the way to the door without being noticed. Why not us?"

"We're five times larger than a hawk, though," said Ash.

"I don't really see an alternative," Shade declared. "Dragon forms, now."

In seconds, eight dragons stood where eight teenagers had stood previously. "Everyone, come quickly!" announced Shade. He leapt into the air, flapped his wings once, and glided all the way to the doorway.

"Kay, you can climb on my back if you'd like," James said after remembering that in her dragon form she did not have wings.

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Kay smiled. Soon, all eight dragons, including Kay, were crowded around the doorway.

"It's locked, obviously," Shade said. "Think we should just break it down and make a grand entrance?"

"Or do you mind if I try something else?" spoke up Kate.

"Worked last time; why not?" shrugged Shade. They moved away from the door, clearing the way for Kate.

She stood with her right claw directly level with the door's handle. "Focus, Kate," she told herself, and shut her eyes tightly. A vine suddenly poked from the tip of her index finger, extending itself until it snaked inside of the lock. Kate continued to extend the vine as she stood there in deep concentration.

"Ah, I see…," Laura said in comprehension, "she's picking the lock with the vine. Great idea!"

The lock clicked a few moments later, and Kate's eyes flew open. "Got it," she said triumphantly, and put a hand to the door. "May I open it?"

"Be my guest," Shade said.

Kate turned the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open. The seven other dragons crowded around her, eager to see what was inside. The door opened fully, and the dragons stumbled inside.

"Well… this is anticlimactic," noted Jay.

It was… for there was nothing inside, save for the overhead lights that lit the interior. The concrete floors that they stood on gave way to white, windowless walls, which were completely bare. It could've been inferred that the building had once been occupied, but there was not even any indication of anyone or anything ever occupying the place.

"Is this even the right place?" Raffi asked. She walked alone over to one of the walls, out of sight from the rest of the group, where she absentmindedly ran her left claw along the wall as she walked along.

"It must be. Atticus said that this was the only building in the area, and I don't think he would lead us astray," Shade said, bemused. Aside from Raffi, the rest of the group had not left their spots by the door.

"I believe in Atticus too, Shade," said Ash. "But is it possible that they could've been wrong? There's nothing here!"

"What about his theory of there being an underground section…?" asked Kay. "Maybe…"

She was cut short by a loud bang, a noise that reverberated and echoed throughout the building, magnifying it further. A few of the dragons in the group ducked. Others stared around after a few moments of hesitation, trying to find the culprit of the noise.

"What was that?"

"It sounded like something shut…"

Shade stared around as well, but he was not seeing anything more than the other six… six… wait. "Raffi?"

"She's back th…," Ash turned to point at the back wall.

But it was empty.

"RAFFI!" yelled Shade.

A sense of confusion and alarm erupted throughout the group. Where was Raffi? She had been walking along the back wall right before the noise had occurred… yet now was nowhere to be seen.

The group scattered, a few to the place where Raffi had vanished, others to other parts of the building, trying to find other explanations to both the noise and Raffi's disappearance.

"I don't get it…," Laura said. "She was right back here. In fact, I could've sworn I saw her out of the corner of my eye right before the bang!"

Shade stood up against the wall, putting his ear up to it and feeling around it. There did not appear to be anything amiss with the wall... but if this was so, why did Raffi disappear there?

"Guys, I've got something!"

This statement had come from Jay. Everyone spun around to look at the large red dragon. He was staring at the ground before him… or, at least, what had been the ground prior. Instead, however, there now sat a large hole. "I had barely laid my foot here when, all of a sudden, the ground disappeared and there was… this!"

The group rushed over to him and stared down into the hole. Visibly there was a stone stairway which descended into the hole. There was likely a light further down the stairs, evidenced by a faint glow radiating from the hole.

"Let me guess," Kate said. "We're gonna have to go down there."

Shade nodded quickly. "Yeah. They've taken Raffi down here somehow, I'm sure of it."

"But Raffi wasn't even standing over here, Shade…," said Laura.

"But do we have any other leads?" asked Shade, a hint of concernment in his voice. "We would've had to go down here anyway, even if Raffi hadn't disappeared. Her disappearance makes it all the more inevitable, now. This has got to be where the Reich stronghold is. The real one."

And with this, the blue dragon leapt amorously into the hole, descending the staircase at a rapid pace. The other six dragons followed, knowing not where they were headed or what to expect—simply knowing that the glory and notoriety that they had spoken of earlier was to be achieved now—there was no turning back now. And, to boot, it could be inferred that they had somehow kidnapped Raffi.

This was personal.

END CHAPTER


	9. Chapter 9

The Dragon Chronicles

Pt. 2- The Rescue Mission

Ch. 3- The Descent and the Discovery

Descending the dark, damp stairway brought about a sense of intimidation and of cautiousness to the seven remaining members of the rescue cavalry known now amongst themselves as Master Shi's Soldiers. They had crawled into the narrow arcade that had appeared suddenly in the floor of the building in which they had been searching for clues as to the Reich's location with the intent of two things, actually—one, to explore this newly-discovered area of the property, and two, to search for one of their own.

They still knew not how Raffi had disappeared, or why, for that matter. It could be inferred, however, that her disappearance was not only correlated with the loud bang they had heard before noticing her vanishing, but also with the appearance of this hidden stairway that Kay had accidentally stumbled upon. And if the latter assertion was false, then at least the group had discovered what they had been searching for—a sign of the Reich's occupancy of the facility.

And so they navigated the stairway; all of its twists, turns, and occasional missing steps. The seven dragons had actually stayed in their dragon forms while inside this corridor, forsake of not only descending it as quickly as possible, but also to light the stairway, as there was no light otherwise inside other than a rather distant glow that radiated from the supposed end of the tunnel.

Jay led the way, Shade intently at his side. The theoretical leader of the group had for a brief moment stepped aside—at least partially—in order to let Jay lead, as Shade did not have power over fire and thus could not lead the group in its venture downward. Still, it appeared as if Shade was setting the pace by which they traveled, as at times Jay seemed to be struggling to stay two-abreast with the bluish dragon.

No one actually did object to that pace, however. They were as mystified at Raffi's disappearance as Shade had been, and were determined to find her—as well as Jake Long and the other captives.

"It feels like we've been in here forever," Ash said finally, after minutes of silence, save for the sounds of their footsteps on the concrete stairs. "How far down is this place?"

"Probably as far as they need to go in order to stay undetected by the outside world," replied James, his dark scales blending into the darkness so that only his dilated red eyes were tangibly visible. "We must be a thousand feet below the ground right now, at least!"

"Which'll make it all the harder to escape from this place…," growled Laura.

"No kidding. But hey, I think we're almost there," Kay said. "I think we're nearing that light at the end of the tunnel… don't you guys sense it getting brighter in here?"

She was right—it was getting brighter. Noting this, Jay extinguished the brilliant flame he had lit at his right claw and drew back, allowing Shade to take the absolute lead. At this, Shade broke into a near-run as they rounded what would prove to be the final twist of the corridor.

Suddenly, Shade stopped, setting off a minor pileup behind him as the rest of the group attempted to stop just as abruptly. Once they untangled and brushed off themselves, the other dragons looked up at the reason for Shade's immediate stop.

It was a large wooden door, roughly nine feet high and with a width just wide enough to admit the students in their dragon forms. Four torches, the sources of the light they had viewed further up the stairway, sat juxtaposed along the sides of the door. The now-familiar stone walls that lined the stairway now surrounded the door, and there were random splotches of dirt on them.

"It's almost like no one's been down here for years…," said Kate breathlessly. "Would the Reich really be this old-fashioned?"

"Either that, or they're pretty dang smart," James said. "There's only one way to find out, though…"

As it was, James did not even need to say these words, as Shade had already reached forward and grasped the door handle. "Guys, be ready for anything…," he whispered calmly. "We cannot know for sure what is behind this door."

"Right…," Laura added. "For all we know, they might have been watching us the whole time. Feisley or Harrelson or any other Reich member could be right inside…"

Shade finally broke the anticipation, after pausing for a few moments, by quickly swinging open the door. Without reluctance he hurried inside, the six others following closely.

What presented itself was a long hallway—but much different than the stairway from which they had just came. In opposition, it was scarcely-lit with modern overhead lights built into a white-tiled ceiling. The floors were akin to this—white-tiled, and the walls were white, though lined with, at various points, grayish doors. The corridor seemed to stretch on for a long distance, with simply a white wall at its end. Perhaps, if the lights from overhead could be brightened, more could be seen.

"Wow…," Kate said in awe.

"There's so many of them!" said Ash, referring to the doors. "How on earth are we ever gonna find Raffi down here?"

"We must start somewhere," Shade said shortly, and with this took off into the hallway.

"Shade, wait!" Kay called after him. "We need to stay together, not rush off like this!"

But Shade, latently blinded by his fervent pursuit of his girlfriend, was already at the closest door. In one quick motion, he swung it open and rushed inside. Knowing not what might happen when he did this, the rest of the group followed quickly.

As it turned out, they did not need to worry, for truthfully there was no harm nor danger that presented itself in the room. It was a room much like that of a doctor's, with a single chair in the corner of one side and a large bedded table, akin to what a patient might lay on, at the other side. The room was as white-walled as the hallway, although slightly more lit. Shade was at the center of the room, his head angled at the ground in frustration. "She's not here," he said once he knew they were in the room, "nor do I think she has ever been. We must keep looking." And at these words, he broke past the group and proceeded down the corridor to the next-nearest room.

"We'll help!" Kay exclaimed, and she and Ash left the room together. Kate and James followed thereafter, and this left Laura and Jay, who did not appear in a hurry to depart. Rather, they seemed to be more engulfed in the room itself.

"I don't get it…," said Laura as her eyes scanned her redundant surroundings, "what is this place? What is it used for?"

"Well, it certainly couldn't be a doctor's office," Jay replied, his left talon resting on the bed-like table. "But that is almost what it appears to be. Or perhaps it's some sort of 'crew's quarters'… maybe this is where the Reich sleeps at night."

"Or keeps its prisoners…," muttered Laura.

"I doubt that. If this is where the prisoners are stowed, wouldn't they be in here right now? And wouldn't the doors be slightly more… y'know, sturdy?"

Laura sighed. "You're right. But then, if the Reich slept here, wouldn't it be a bit more… roomy? I doubt anyone could sleep here…"

Jay shrugged. "Given that we don't have any other leads, I see no obvious alternative…"

"Yeah, I know. I just wish there was some way I could figure out what truly happened here…," she said, and, too, placed her hand on the bed.

What followed was an occurrence that is hard to explain, even to the person that has witnessed it. But as soon as Laura touched the table, it was an awakening of sorts, an awakening to a sense that she had not previously known to exist. In front of her eyes, the image of the room and of Jay melted away in a swirl of colors, only to be replaced by another image—one that was quite similar to the one she had just witnessed, although now it was surrounded by a blood-red border. She saw the bed—there was someone on it! But who?—she could not be certain. It was a boy, a boy whom she had never seen before, at least as far as she could remember. The boy had blond hair. His eyes were closed, but he appeared to be awake, as his teeth were gritted and his limbs were continually jolting, as if he was trying to move but couldn't. And Laura could see why—at his wrists and ankles were large shackles that were connected to chains coming out from the floor.

For a short while, this was all Laura witnessed—just this sight, and no sound. But soon after, sound did come—rather suddenly, as a sharp knife cutting her conscious pointedly. The sound, however, was distorted. No, no, perhaps distorted was not the word. It was almost… magnified. It was as if her sense of sound had been sharpened, yet in some way blurred together. She could hear the boy on the table now, but there was more she could hear as well—other voices, perhaps? It was all so bemusing, and Laura was unsure if she liked it.

"No…no," the boy cried softly, his mouth barely moving. "Please… I beg you…" Laura recognized the boy's voice as having an Australian accent—at least, so she thought, although she was not completely sure, as she had never before met an Australian, let alone anyone from that particular part of the world.

The image seemed to speed outward, focusing so that it included more of the room, not simply the table itself. And there they were—the white-robed beings that had been spoken of so prolifically—two of them. They even had the white hoods pulled over their heads. It was the Reich. She was sure of it.

"Come now, Mr. Nerk," spoke a male voice, the robed being by the left side of the table facing the boy. "This will take merely a few seconds. It is for your well-being." He turned to his accomplice. "You may now administer the serum."

The other Reich member said nothing, but simply leaned over so that it was level with the broad support table that was underneath the bed. Laura realized that under the bed there was a small cabinet, something she had not noticed prior. The figure opened the cabinet door, rummaged around for a few moments, and pulled out a small box. It then opened the box, and took out of it an empty syringe. "Excellent," said the man, taking the syringe from his accomplice. He reached into a small pocket on the inside of his robe (he reached under the top part of his robe to do this) and produced a tiny vial, which noticeably contained a neon-green liquid. He dipped the syringe into the vial, and the vial filled up with the same liquid. The man handed the syringe back to his accomplice. "It's ready. Carry on, then."

"Yes sir," nodded the other Reich member, who also had a masculine tone to his voice. He reached for the boy's arm, turning it upside down to reveal the under-part of his elbow joint. He exhibited a firm grip on the upper part of his arm, allowing the vein to pop out and be found easier.

"No…," said the boy weakly.

"Worry not, Mr. Nerk," said the first figure. "This shall not hurt." And at these words, the second figure plunged the syringe's needle into the boy's arm. The boy cried out slightly, although not enough to warrant a scream. His entire body gave one large jolt, but soon pacified, as the green liquid emptied itself into his bloodstream. Once the syringe was empty, the robed man removed it, and quickly pulled out another substance, presumably some sort of disinfectant, and began to rub it on the spot where the syringe had entered. At this point, the boy had stopped moving, and appeared to be unconscious. "This went well," said the first man. "We must move on, though, so we can administer more of the serum before tonight's activities. Quick, let us hurry. Someone will come along and return him to his quarters a bit later."

As abruptly as it had began, the vision ended at these words. Laura blinked once, and then once more. She thought she heard Jay's voice, but she could not see him, nor could speak to him. Her sight changed once again, although this time to black. And that was all she remembered.

As this had been occurring, the other members of the group had been searching the rest of the floor. However, not much was gathered from this experience, as every room there was all the same—the white rooms, with the table and chair, and no occupants nor any signs of them ever being occupied, at least not in a while.

"C'mon, Shade…," Kay said, irritated, as she followed the leader and most persistent advocate of checking each and every room, "can't you slow down a bit? We all need to stay together, in case anything comes out at us or something."

"We can't waste any time," replied Shade, as he walked in a circle around the final room that had not been checked. "Think of what could happen in the time we waste… think of what could happen to Raffi…"

"I think Raffi can fend for herself," James cut in, having just walked into the room. "She's a tough girl, and probably one of the better fighters out of all of us."

"I've still got to find her," growled Shade in reply. "It wouldn't be right of me if I didn't." He rushed out of the room, the two others in tow, and paused outside. "Damn, it's the last room," he said in disgust. "What now?"

"I don't know, and I wish I did," said Ash. "But while you three were checking these rooms, Kate and I were checking the hallway over, and it's all the same!"

"Wait, there's another hallway?!" Shade exclaimed.

"Well, yes, but…"

"…it's just like this one, Shade," Kate said, "and there's no other area that's been unchecked."

"But that doesn't make any sense! Where else could she have gone?" asked Shade rhetorically. It was quite the puzzling affair. Could there have been a clue sometime earlier, like in the stairway, that they had missed? Or could this be a diversion, something to throw them off while Raffi was held elsewhere?

Suddenly, there was a loud yelling that was emitted from the opposite side of the corridor. It was Jay, whom the group just realized had been with Laura in the first room the entire time. Why, they did not know. But obviously, something had gone amiss.

"Guys, guys, we have a problem," came Jay's call as he dashed down the hallway in their direction, all the while pointing behind him at the room he had just exited—and Laura not in tow.

"What is it, Jay?" asked James.

"It's Laura. We were looking around in the room, and then all of a sudden she went completely blank! I was trying to talk to her, and then… she passed out, I think."

"Great, our group is dropping like flies," noted Kay. "Wonder who'll be next…"

"Let's try not to think about that right now," Kate said. "We have to help Laura!"

"But what about Raffi?"

"That can wait, Shade!" Ash exclaimed. "It's gonna have to. Now, where were you guys, Jay?"

"The first room we were in," answered Jay breathlessly. "Come on!" He led the way, the remainder of the group following behind intently.

Upon entering the room, the found that Laura was exactly where Jay had left her—face up on the floor next to the table-bed, her eyes closed and her forehead and mouth bleeding. (She had collapse face first; Jay had turned her over to see if she was conscious.)

"Oh my…," Kay started.

"Did you try to awaken her?" James asked Jay.

Jay nodded. "Yeah, but she was completely out. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so I came to find you guys…"

"Why is she not in her dragon form, though?" Ash asked aloud.

"That happened when I turned her over," replied Jay. "Maybe it was the trauma or injury that caused it…"

Kate knelt down beside Laura, who was still unconscious despite the commotion. "Lord, if only I knew how to use these healing powers that I supposedly have…"

Kay came forward, now also in her human form. "I had a napkin in my pocket," she explained, showing it around. "It's never been used before."

Kate took the napkin, and set it against Laura's face, sweeping quickly to wipe off as much blood as possible. "The gashes don't seem too deep, so I think she's done bleeding for the most part. We really could use some water, though… it would help was the cuts and wake her up."

She was right in the sense that the bleeding had stopped, at least for the most part. But since there was no water around, they were unable at that moment to cleanse her abrasions rightfully. This made completing their mission even more vital—her wounds could quite possibly become infected if they did not act quickly.

After a long silence—"Do you think we should try waking her up again?" suggested James.

"Worth a try," shrugged Kay. She (being the only conscious person in human form) laid her hands on Laura's shoulders, and began to shake her lightly. "Laura, Laura..," she said softly, "can you hear me?"

Laura began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open, and she coughed a few times. Immediately, her hand went to her head. "Ohh… what on earth happened? Why am I bleeding?"

"You passed out…," said Jay, "and hit your head on the table and the floor. It was weird…"

She sat up, propping herself up with her left arm while her right hand still assessed her injuries. "Is that what happened?" She stared around at her surrounding comrades. "So… where is the other boy? The one that was on the table?"

This was followed by a prolonged silence. "Um… boy?" asked Ash, confused.

"Laura, it was just you and me in here…," Jay said. "There was no boy… there was no one else."

"But the two men in the white robes…"

"White robes? Like the Reich?" questioned Shade.

"Yeah!" Laura exclaimed. "So you saw them?"

"Er… no," replied Shade. "I saw nothing. Did anyone else?" The rest of the group shook their heads. "Yeah, that's what I thought," he continued. "There was no one else here, Laura. Maybe it's something you imagined while you were passed out…"

"No!" countered Laura defensively. "This all happened, and then I remember blacking out!" Visibly frustrated, she buried her face in her hands, not acknowledging the nearly-dried blood that then stuck on her hands. "I know it happened. I know what I saw…"

Jay, his expression turning, crouched beside her and laid his claw on her shoulder as lightly as he could. "Laura, I'm sorry… maybe you should get back into your dragon form so we can continue…"

Laura sighed and looked up at her boyfriend. "Fine," she said shortly. She stood up, with a bit of help from Jay, righted herself, and turned to the group. "Alright, I'm good. Let's go."

"Great," nodded Shade. He lurched out of the room, obviously intent on searching for a new passageway, one that had gone unnoticed by their group. But he was not five feet from the door when Laura's voice was heard once more.

"Wait!" the girl exclaimed. This was all she said, although it was an exclamation of surprise and discovery, of something dawning on her that was all-important. Her hand was pointed toward the table—or rather, underneath it.

"What now, Laura?" asked Jay.

"Under there…," she started, "there is a cabinet. One of the robed figures was getting in there. There were all these boxes inside, and syringes inside them. The robed figures used the syringe to give the boy a shot… or something like that, I guess."

"C'mon, Laura…" sighed Jay

"Open it, then!" Laura said. "Open it, and see for yourself!"

"I'll do it," said James. He fell onto his knees and gripped the cabinet handle. After a moment of slight hesitation, he pulled, and the door swung open. Everyone peered inside, not a sound reverberating in the room as they did so. James gasped. "Guys, look…" he whispered. He had reached inside and taken out a small box.

"Open it…" Kate said anxiously. James did so, and inside, as Laura had predicted, was a glinting syringe, never before used.

"Now do you believe me?" asked Laura, a smug smile painted onto her face.

Everyone appeared stunned. What Laura had claimed was coming true!—or, at least, was strikingly accurate. But what she had claimed to have happened could not possibly have happened! Unless…

"I wonder…" said Shade suddenly, "is it possible for a dragon to have more than one elemental power?"

"What do you mean, Shade?" inquired Ash.

"Well, I mean… suppose a dragon might have powers over both fire and electricity?"

"It's possible. Rare, but possible," James said. "LaGuardia spoke about it in her third lecture. But why would it matter here?"

Shade paused and swallowed. "Well," he started again," think about it. Laura has power over electricity—"

"I do," nodded Laura. "What would that have to do with fire, though?"

"Nothing, necessarily," Shade replied. "But the possibility is there!—a dragon, although it is rare, could possess two powers.

"Now, here's what I'm getting at—do you all recall the teaching of the 'dragon elements'?"

"Yeah, I do," answered Kay. "It was in the same lecture. Basically, the elements that are in relation to a dragon's abilities are not necessarily inclusive to the elements that most imagine. Like, for instance… there could be the ability of snow, or of shape-shifting, or psychic ability…"

"Psychic ability. Right," Shade said. "And while the details of a single person's psychic ability can be wide-ranging, it could include levitating objects with the mind, or reading the minds of others, or perhaps seeing more than what is presented on the surface. Allowing one to discover what others wish to hide…"

(A/N: If anyone can tell me what movie/book that last line was an allusion to, you get a stale cookie.)

"So… are you saying that Laura has some sort of psychic ability?" asked Jay.

"It would appear so, wouldn't it?" Shade answered. "Laura, was there anything that happened that might've triggered this vision you had?"

"Well," Laura replied thoughtfully, "yes, now that I think about it, there was! I had just laid my hand down on the table…"

"So you touched the table?"

"Yeah. And that's when I saw the boy."

"That's it, then!" exclaimed Shade. "What happened here in the past… the memory of it was so strong that it must have effectively attached itself to this room, and more specifically, this bed. This memory must have unlocked this ability, awakened it to yourself, allowing you to see what truly happened."

"So if the memory of an event occurring at a certain spot is powerful enough," Laura said, "I could see it? I could find out what happened?"

"Actually, perhaps it was the nature of this memory that awakened your ability," James said. "It is possible that you could find out just about anything, even the slightest memories."

"Only if I touch something, an object?"

"Only then, people included, I would imagine."

For a few moments, Laura was silent, apparently contemplating the extremities of the situation she was in. Finally, she said, simply, "Sounds cool, I guess. I just don't want to use it that often—obviously, I passed out last time."

Shade nodded in agreement. "Yes, it probably would be for the best—use it only when you need it the most."

"But wouldn't that be kind of unavoidable?" asked James. "I mean, she merely touched the table, and this happened. Ideally, she could touch just about anything and have it activated…"

"Actually, I'm not completely sure about that," Jay said. "When she touched the bed, she actually wanted to discover something. So really, I guess it gave to her what she was asking for. We'll just have to see, I guess."

Ash yawned. "You know, this is pretty informative and all, but I think that the best thing to do now is continue our search… and have Laura avoid any physical contact with… well, anything."

"I'm fine with that!" Laura said suddenly. "I hate being the center of attention, yet I've played that part for the past five minutes. Enough is enough. I'll just… try to cut off these abilities for the time being, you know? If you guys are correct, I can avoid it if I don't think about it, right?"

"Hypothetically, yes," James said. "But yes, you're right. We must continue…"

And so, they did. The group left the room behind them, and pressed on, on towards the end of the hallway. It was here that they stopped, unable, it was obvious, to go further. They had checked all of the rooms. They had scrutinized every fiber of the hallway from whence they came. It was not a good sign, this—perhaps the place really had been a diversion, distracting them from their true target. But if this was the case, then what clue had they missed?

Shade, who had been at the head of the group once more, sighed and turned to the rest of the group, which was now comprised of six other dragons, as Kay and Laura had revisited their dragon forms. "Well, what now?" he asked. "There's nothing else here…"

"Well, maybe we really did miss something back in the stairway," Kay said. "D'you think we should go back there…?"

"No," said James. "Not yet. There's one place we haven't checked yet…" He looked over at the nearby 'connector' hallway, the one that connected the hallway they were at the end of and the hallway that was juxtaposed with the one they were in.

"But there's no doors there, James," Ash observed. "It's just an empty hallway…"

"True, but wasn't the warehouse on top of this whole place empty as well? Things are not always what they seem…"

"Well, if there's one thing that we do know," said Jay, "it's that if there is something hidden, like another room or door or stairway, it will be on the right side of the hallway, because else it would interfere with the rooms from the last hallway if it was on the left."

"Yeah, good call," Shade said. "Everyone, keep to the right. Take in the wall and the floor. There has to be something here…"

The connector hallway was not long, perhaps the length of a school bus. Thus, there was not much to search, yet still all seven were involved, and all seven lined up along the wall and on the floor, searching desperately, bemusedly, in hope that they had not been fooled by the Reich in this maze of a place.

"I hate to say it, but it's just like any other wall in this place," Kate sighed, "which is bare and dull. How about the floor?"

"Nothing either," replied James shortly.

"Um… well, I'm not sure if it's much, but you guys might wanna come have a look at this," piped up Laura. "It's definitely an aberration from the norm, that's for sure…"

She was staring at her section of the wall, which was not exactly mid-hallway but nearly. Her gaze was fixed at an eye-level area of the wall. The others in the group crowded around her, as she pointed to the spot she was looking at.

It was a symbol—small, yet noticeable. At a sideways glance, one might think it to be a smudge, no less, but there it was, upon further and closer observation—this symbol, this red symbol. Yes, it was a red symbol. And it had the shape of a flame—or, at least, that was the form that was most indicated.

"It's a flame…" Ash whispered, "isn't it? Is that what it looks like to you guys?"

"Yeah, it does," said Kay. "I wonder why, though… what could it be for, if anything at all?"

"Hmm…" James had set his hand on his chin as he eyed the peculiar symbol. "Maybe… it has something to do with the elements again. D'you think so?"

"Oh, you mean, like… the symbol stands for fire, as in the elemental power of fire?" asked Ash.

"Yeah," he said, and then turned to her, "so, in that case, I have an idea. Do you think you could set a flame up against the symbol?"

"Sure, I can do that," replied Ash. The others cleared a path for her, and she walked up to a spot as near to the wall as she could. She held out a claw and produced a small orange flame on the tip of her index talon. She held the flame to the symbol, as close as she could without actually touching it. At this, the symbol brightened, until it was glowing radiantly.

"Look…" Kay whispered. "What's it doing?"

"It's activating something…" James said, "just like I thought it might. But… what?"

Once the symbol was at its brightest, a white light appeared around it. The light then traced away from its origin, fleeting across the wall for a few feet, and then veering upwards. It continued to trace along the wall, until an obvious shape had been made—the outline of a door. The symbol expanded outward, becoming a doorknob. The white light then settled, and the outline filled in—and there, before them, was a wooden door, hidden in times prior, but now visible.

"Well, this works," Jay said.

"And it's convenient, too," added Laura.

"This has GOT to be the place to go…" Shade exclaimed. "Why else would they hide it?" He turned to the whole group. "Well, this is it. Are you guys ready to go in?"

"Whenever you are," said James.

In response to this, Shade gripped the door handle tightly, unsure whether or not it would be locked. To his surprise, it turned easily. He opened the door, and stepped inside.

(end)

The initial thing Raffi noticed when she awoke was that she had reverted back into human form, which was probably to be expected, but still caught her by surprise nonetheless. Nothing on her body ached, either—a good sign.

Her memory was slightly foggy, but she could still remember some small details from times prior—from her separation from the rest of the group to where she was now—wherever that was.

She had, she supposed, fallen through a hole in the floor—like some sort of trap door. It was obviously large enough to admit her larger dragon form, yet it was small enough to not be noticeable when it turned—thus, she figured, no one had noticed it. If they had, they would already have found her.

What had ensued was a flight down a particularly long chute, culminating with a drop into a bedded room, akin to one that might be found in an asylum. She had hit the floor rather hard, but it didn't knock her out. So she had stood up and approached a nearby door, the way out, after gathering her thoughts.

And then, then it happened—the last thing she remembered, actually. Upon touching the doorknob, she was administered some sort of electric shock—a safeguard, as one might infer, against a prisoner leaving. The shock coursed through her body, first a bit dull, but then growing in intensity as the duration of her holding on the knob increased. Finally, she blacked out, and it was all she had remembered before that point, when she awoke.

She wasn't in that padded room anymore, though. She was in a much different place, rather—one with stone walls, stone floors, but no ceiling—at least, not a ceiling that met the walls. She figured that there was a ceiling somewhere, but it was not visible—instead, there was a dense fog above her. Where this fog had come from, she did not know, but it was there nevertheless.

She was laid out on a stone bed. It was in the center of the room she was in. The bed was not too high up, but more so than a normal bed might be in relation to the ground. There were four breaks in the stone walls around her, which apparently led off onto paths that went elsewhere. At each wall there were two separate poles, each with lightning bolts on top of them, giving off light onto the room.

"What is this place?" Raffi asked aloud to no one in particular. "It's like… some sort of maze." She stared up again, at the fog blanketing the space above the walls and herself. "I wonder if I could fly up there and figure out what's going on…" She concentrated and shifted into her dragon form. Shortly after, she leapt into the air and beat her wings once, readying herself for a rapid ascent into the air.

This, however, was short-lived—for, at the exact moment that she reached a height that was the equivalent of the height of the walls, an unforeseen and powerful force field bounced her back to the ground. "Ugh…" she grunted. "No use. There's no getting above it."

She sighed, and looked over at the nearest break in the walls. "Well, I guess that the best way to find out where I am is to play by the rules… and try to find the others. I have to try to find a way out of here."

And with that she walked off, knowing not where she was going or what to expect. She could merely guess, and what she guessed was that she was in a maze, a labyrinth, and whoever had put her there did not necessarily want her to get out…"

(end)

Once Shade had opened the door and had gone inside, he found that there was a slight descent, but after a few steps he would be in a more open room—or, at least, that was what it appeared as to him. He rushed down the steps, the others in tow, and they spilled out into a somewhat-open space, although it was not without its enclosing characteristics.

"Where are we now?" asked Kay. They were standing at, it seemed, the foot of something much larger—although they could not see it clearly. Before them sat stone walls, with a small break in the center—an entrance of sorts. There was no visible ceiling, though—above them was a fog, one that seemed to cover the space over them for as long as they could see.

"It's some sort of maze…" James said. "Don't you think? I can see other stone walls just barely over the ones right here… and they're not all connected."

"But there's no ceiling…" said Ash. "Wouldn't that mean we could just fly over the place?—or at least fly up and map out the best directions to take?"

"Check it if you want," Jay said. "But somehow I don't think the Reich would be that stupid to allow such a loophole."

Ash ignored these last words and flew up suddenly. She was promptly returned to the ground by a then-activated force field. "Ow…" she whined, rubbing her head. "That ain't gonna work…"

"Then we'll just have to go through," Shade said. "With the seven of us, it couldn't be that hard… and maybe Raffi's inside here, too!—looking for a way out as well. Maybe we'll encounter her, and then we'll all be together. Then, we can go find the captive dragons. That's what has to be at the end of this…"

"Well, we've got no other leads," Kate said. "Let's do this, then. Y'think we should split up, Shade?"

"Yeah, of course! It would increase our odds of finding the exit, and if anyone finds anything, they can yell out and everyone can follow each others' voices."

"Sounds good," said Kay. "We ready?"

"Yeah," Shade replied. "C'mon, guys… this maze can't be that big… let's go."

And as they ventured towards the entrance, and into the labyrinth, one might feel slight pity towards Shade's final, understating comment—for, if they could have risen above the stone walls and have seen what they were up against, they would've found that the stone walls went on for miles, and that there was no obvious exit anywhere—it seemed as if one could go in, but one could only come out the way they came. And maybe, just maybe, if they could've evaluated their surroundings, they would've viewed the various dark figures that stalked the corridors of the maze, waiting for an unaware passerby to fall into their clutches…

END CHAPTER


	10. Chapter 10

The Dragon Chronicles

Pt. 2- The Rescue Mission

Ch. 4- The Labyrinth

"Is everyone okay with exploring the place by themselves, then?" was Shade's initial query as he and his fellow dragons neared the entrance of the large labyrinth into which they would be venturing momentarily.

"Yeah, as long as at least someone can hear you, should something go wrong," replied Kay. "I really think we should still stay somewhat close…"

"I still don't see what could go wrong," James said. "It's a maze, for God's sake… the only reason anyone'd need to yell is if they find the exit."

"Let's hope that's all it comes to," said Shade. They were right against the mouth of the labyrinth now, about to head in. Before them there was merely a long stretch of a path, the stone walls on either side of it. Strangely enough, there did not seem to be any other paths leading off from the main path—rather, it seemed to stretch to another wall. Of course, their current vantage point did not allow them to see much, but this was what they saw nevertheless.

Without another word, Shade stepped forward, and the others followed. As if on cue, once the last dragon stepped inside the labyrinth's boundaries, there came from the ground another massive stone wall. It rose quickly, until it was at the height of the rest of the labyrinth's walls. It looked, afterward, as if there had never been an entrance present in prior times.

"Well, there goes our way out," sighed Ash. "Guess the only way to go now is forward, eh?"

And it was, but still there was an aura of uneasiness brought upon by the closing of the entrance. It was more and more evident, it seemed, that the Reich had constructed some sort of fun house for anyone that dared to trespass on their grounds. And they surely were not having fun.

On they walked. The stone walls surrounding them almost seemed to be deteriorating, some sections covered in what looked to be moss. It was as if the place had been there for centuries, and upon finding it the Reich had made the area their base and had built around it. It made them wonder—if this was the sort of thing they were encountering, what else could there be?—or was this it, the climax of it all? It was unlikely, in that respect. They doubted that, should they make it out of the maze, the Reich would be laying on the ground in surrender already, with the captive dragons applauding gratefully. No, it wouldn't be that simple. Ideally, this was merely the tip of the iceberg.

At about midway down the "entrance hallway," as it seemed to be, there came a small gasp from the rear of the group—it had come from Kate. "Laura, what are you doing?" she asked slightly thereafter. "Why'd you go back to human form?"

This she had done—Laura now walked amongst them, a David among Goliaths. She simply shrugged in response, "It's only a maze, right? It's not like we need to fly, or fight… unless it's each other, of course," she added with a laugh.

Apparently, this was reason enough for all others to follow suit. Thus, in seconds, what had been six dragons and a teenaged girl now was a small group of teens instead. "Feels good to be out of that body," Ash sighed happily, attaching a yawn to the end of her statement. "How long's it been?"

"Since this morning, so a couple of hours," Shade replied. "At least, I'd imagine… there's no indication of time in this place—weird. I don't see how the Reich could ever get anything done in this place."

"Of course, having a huge labyrinth doesn't help matters, I'm sure," added James.

"Unless there was another path we missed," said Jay. "But of course, there's no way we can go back and look—gotta press on, now."

They had reached the end of the path. And now, there were two paths leading off from either side. "Fork in the road," muttered Kay. "Wonderful."

"Time to split up, then," said Shade. "Three head left, four head right. We can continue branching off from there."

"I'll head left!" Ash said. Jay and Laura followed.

"Guess it's right for the rest of us," Shade motioned to Kate, Kay, and James—they departed as well—and thus, the group was further broken down.

The group consisting of Ash, Laura, and Jay had not gone but a few paces when another split in the paths occurred—this time, however, there was one path that continued to lead straight ahead, while two others branched off to the left and right.

"Three paths, three of us," Jay said. "I suppose it's time to do some exploring solo. Chances are, all three paths will meet back together eventually, anyway…"

"Eventually, yes," replied Ash. "Someone yell out if they find something, alright?" The other two nodded. With this, Ash continued down the central path, while Jay took the left; Laura, the right. "Good luck, Jay…" called Laura to her boyfriend. But he did not answer. He soon rounded a corner, out of her sight. And soon after, her path took a turn as well. They were alone.

Shade's group was still together. In taking the path to the right, they had yet to come across one alternate path. "Some maze this is," James commented. "I wonder if the others are in the same situation."

"Probably," replied Shade. "And somehow, I don't think it's going to stay this way. I can't imagine the Reich making such a simple maze…"

Light continued to radiate from the central eight columns, the columns with the lightning bolts etched onto their surfaces. All but one of the group had yet to see it, but still, all knew that wherever this light was coming from, it must be from the center of the maze.

This one member of the group was actually walking in a direction that would soon have her in contact with Shade's group, granted that the paths they both were on kept their current directions. Raffi did not know that her fellow dragons had entered the labyrinth, and nor did they know she was inside, but she knew that the exit to the place had to be somewhere away from where she had been, as she had initially awakened in the central chamber of the maze, and there were no helpful clues there—none, at least, that she could recognize.

But despite this lack of full knowledge, the lights shone on—as hope, as an indication that the group was still alive, and still searching—searching for an exit, or searching for one of their own, who was closer than they thought. And, unlike their future, the light remained constant, chronic, unchanging. It was this light that would keep their hopes alive. And they would need it.

(end)

Lao Shi wheeled out of the elevator, knowing not what to do next. His path was shrouded in uncertainty, but he did not feel at that point that he was threatened in any way. He was there to see Atticus Stevenson. Nothing more.

But, having never ventured into the basement of the academy, he did not know where Atticus' exact location was. He looked ahead. There was a dimly-lit hallway, leading from where he sat. It was the only way he could go—that is, unless he turned and went back the way he came. This was not an option. He wanted to speak to Atticus before the children returned.

So on he went. He determined, as he went along, that the hallway was merely a hallway and nothing more—it was as if it was a connector hallway to another part of the academy's basement, as there were no doors visible at first. But in time, he came to the end of the hallway, where he found two doors—one at the very end of the corridor, and another very near to the end, but off to the left. The left door was made of maple wood, but with no other indication of anything—like, for instance, what the door was for. The other door was slightly different—it was a white door, with a porthole window three-fourths of the way up. Through the window, Lao Shi could see a white ceiling, with white walls, also dimly lit. He imagined that this was the door to go through, as the other door seemed far less important—a closet, perhaps. Thus, his hand reached for the large doorknob on the white door.

But just as he did this, the wood door swung open, to his surprise. It was LaGuardia, one of Atticus' female associates. She gazed at Lao Shi with a look of discontent, of wariness, and of annoyance. "May I help you, Mr. Shi?" she asked sternly, putting an overemphasis on the word 'help.'

"I've come to see Atticus. Is he down here?"

"You know that you are not to be down here, Mr. Shi?" asked LaGuardia, completely ignoring his question. "This area is designated for academy personnel only…"

"But I am a teacher, aren't I?"

"A temporary teacher. And quite a disposable one at that…" she said this last sentence rather darkly.

"Well, I apologize for having inconvenienced you," said Lao Sho—pleasantly, so as to mask the growing discontent that was boiling inside him. "I merely wished to speak with Atticus…"

"This is such a pity," LaGuardia sneered, "isn't it, Mr. Shi? For unfortunately for you, Atticus stepped out an hour ago, and left me in charge."

"Stepped out? I was not aware that Atticus ever left the academy! What did he leave for?"

"Disciplinary purposes," replied LaGuardia, and it surprised Lao Shi that she had actually answered him. "With Falco."

"Is Falco assisting in the discipline, or is he the one being disciplined?"

"I have told you enough, Mr. Shi. Be grateful for what you know—you're not even supposed to be here!"

He paused. "Then is there a time that he will return?"

"Of course there is a time at which he will return!" snapped LaGuardia. "But you will not be around to greet him when that time comes. I will be sure to have him send for you later, when he is not busy. Am I clear?"

"As rain," muttered Lao Shi. "Thank you for your assistance."

"Do go back the way you came," she replied shortly, and slammed the door quickly. Lao Shi wheeled around, and readied himself to venture back down the hallway from whence he came. But before doing so, he glanced aside at the white door once more. What was behind this door? Had it been mere coincidence that LaGuardia had opened the wood door just as he was about to enter whatever was beyond the other door? And what were Atticus and Falco doing outside the academy? He knew that, in some way, all these questions would be answered if he opened the white door. But he couldn't—he could not risk another encounter with LaGuardia. And furthermore, she was right—it was not his place, being down there.

One thing was for sure, though—Atticus, Falco, LaGuardia, and everyone else at the academy were hiding something, and it had something to do with what was beyond the white door. He would need to consult with Atticus on this later. But for now, he would leave—after all, LaGuardia had said that he would send for him when Atticus got back, whenever that was. He could wait.

(end)

(A/N: Another chance for a stale cookie, y'all—if you can tell me what title of a Weezer song was used during one of LaGuardia's lines of dialogue)

Shade's group had split up, much to the dismay of its members. As they had walked, the maze had become darker, and the moss covering the walls had become far more substantial—creating an effect far more eerie than it had been previously. And then, they had been presented with a new decision, for while the path they were on continued on and beyond, another path veered left—towards the center of the maze, likely. Given this newfound eeriness, the group was much more reluctant to part, but they did—Shade and Kay moving to the left, and Kate and James remaining on the same path.

"It's so dark out here…" whispered Kate nervously. "And it keeps getting darker the longer we walk.'

"There's gotta be a light towards the center," James averred. "That's what I think, at least. We must be on the outskirts of the maze."

"You say it like it's a good thing…"

"It is!" exclaimed James. "Think about it—the exit's gotta be on the outskirts of the maze… I don't think I've ever heard of any maze that deviated from that."

"I guess. It's just really creepy out here... I just wanna find the exit and get outta here…" Kate shivered.

However, the opposite was occurring on the new path, where Shade and Kay had ventured—it was, in fact, getting lighter. "Do you see that?" Shade asked Kay, pointing ahead of him. "Just over the wall…"

"No, I don't—you're just a bit taller than me. What is it?" replied Kay.

"I think it's a light!—no, more of them! I see these columns, and the tops of them appear to be glowing. I'd guess that's the center of the labyrinth, wouldn't you?"

"Shh!"

Kay came to a halt, and so did Shade. She was holding him back, one arm in front of his waist, and the other raised, a finger pressed to her lips.

"Wh—"

"There's something up ahead," said Kay in a hushed whisper. "Around that corner."

They looked up the continuing path. Just ahead, the path made a turn to the right. And Kay was right—there was something ahead. They heard the faintest of footsteps moving down the path in their direction—whatever it was, it would be around the corner in mere moments.

"Get ready," Shade whispered, lowering Kay's arm down to her side. "It couldn't be any of the others—there's no way any of them would've gotten to this point."

"It could be someone from the Reich…" whispered back Kay, "a patroller, or something. Should we fight?"

"Yeah, we will," said Shade definitively. "Here it comes…"

The shadow of the approaching 'thing' appeared, as the figure itself stepped around the corner…

(end)

Laura had reached the center of the labyrinth, in some way. Her path had been rather straight-forward—no alternate paths had appeared, and there had been only one turn before reaching her current spot. When the lit columns had come into view, she had moved more rapidly, in hope that she had discovered the exit of the maze. And, while she was disappointed when she realized where she was, she was not completely put off—rather, slightly amused.

"Wow…" she said, awestruck, "look at this place. And these columns—it's so…"

She was at a loss for that last word. She strode around the room, her eyes glancing at the columns, the walls, and the ceiling—which, despite the light, was still thick with fog and brought about an inability to see distantly. Her gaze then came to the stone bed. "Another bed," she muttered, recalling the table-bed in the last series of rooms they had encountered before discovering the labyrinth. Yet, this bed was more enticing, intriguing—around the stone bed were jagged symbols-lightning bolts, much like the ones that were giving off light atop the columns. But the most interesting part of the bed was not in actuality a part of the platform itself… rather, it was atop the bed.

"It's a pen…" she said, walking over to pick up the small blue object. "…it looks like one that Raffi had." She paused, though, right as she was about to pick it up. "Maybe this thing has a memory attached to it, a clue as to who it belongs to…" She sighed. "As much as I don't want to, I'll have to try to read it… maybe, if I concentrate hard enough, I can keep from passing out."

She paused for just a few more seconds, gulped, and then grasped the pen. The picture around her faded away once more, and then her vision returned, to show the room again—and with a girl atop the bed. She had been right—it was Raffi. And she was just waking up, as it appeared. As she sat up, Laura noticed that the pen slipped out of her pocket. Raffi looked around, leapt from the bed, and walked off, out of one of the spaces in the walls.

The vision ended as abruptly as it had begun. Laura's eyes fluttered as she refocused. She hadn't passed out—that was good. It must've been her determination on focusing on the vision she was getting, or it could've been that the vision had been so minimal that it hadn't had an extreme effect on her.

"So, Raffi's in the labyrinth somewhere…" she said thoughtfully. "And she's left the room in that direction as well. I just wish I could know how long ago this had happened…" She turned toward the exit out of which Raffi had gone. "Guess I should go this way, then. And if I meet her, maybe I can contact the rest of the group—or, at least I could tell the others about this room. It seems to be the hub of all activity here…" And, with these words, she left, in pursuit of Raffi and of more answers to their questions—and ultimately, the exit of the maze.

(end)

Ash had reached what she gathered to be the edge of the maze, as her path split into two other paths going left and right. What puzzled her, however, was that she was alone—just a few paces back, there had been another path to the left, a path that Jay should've come out on. What had happened to him, and why had he not alerted the others if he was lost? She hadn't expected Laura to be at the end of the path, but she gad expected Jay. And now, she stood alone, with a choice of two paths. She imagined that it would be best to go right, as Jay would have to be searching somewhere on the left. Frankly, the place had really begun to creep her out, and she wanted to find the exit as quickly as possible—and going right would be the fastest way to achieve this.

(end)

It was all working out, Jay's plan—he had made it to the edge of the maze. But he had, up to that point, found nothing, no one—and this was slightly unsettling. Still, he knew it to be his duty to patrol this area, so he would remain.

But up ahead, something caught his attention—something that made him grin. He walked ahead, brimming with anticipation…

(end)

"Now!" Shade yelled.

At these words, he and Kay sprang forward, shifting into their dragon forms effortlessly. The figure had come completely around the corner, and it now witnessed two imposing dragons soaring in its direction. But the figure was not wholly intimidated. Its shape changed, and it rushed at its attackers thereafter.

But suddenly, Kay slowed. "Stop!" she called to Shade, who had a bit more trouble reacting and thus took longer to slow. The figure did not slow, and reached out a long blue claw, slashing at Shade's face. Shade howled in pain, clutching at his face as a small amount of blood seeped through his talons. The figure halted quickly, spinning around and returning to Shade.

"Shade, are you alright?!" Kay exclaimed, rushing to his side.

"Do I look alright?!" growled Shade, his eyes squinted, his face still partially covered. "Why did you stop?"

"Because… it's me, Shade," came another voice.

Shade's eyes snapped open. He spun around, taking his claws from his face as he looked to find the body that the voice belonged to. And there before him stood Raffi, in her dragon form, a look of embarrassment spread across her face.

"And… I'm sorry about your face."

(end)

Ash did not see the red eyes immediately—she couldn't have. They were behind her, and she hadn't looked back since taking her new path—not necessarily the best move that could have been made, but a justifiable one nonetheless. She had been walking quickly, in anticipation of finding an exit, and yet the red eyes had not only kept up with her, but had actually gained distance on her.

And when she stopped, the eyes stopped, withdrawing into the shadows that the stone walls cast. Whatever the eyes belonged to was waiting for the most opportune moment—most likely when the red eyes were close enough to stare daggers into the back of the girl's head… and when she turned around…

"Nothing," growled Ash in disgust. "It feels like I've been walking for miles, and I've found nothing." She sighed. "Maybe the exit's not on this side… maybe I should try to find the others, and go from there…"

She stared up ahead. "Problem is, I don't know where to go, exactly. Should I press on? Or should I go back the way I came? Maybe I could find Jay back there, and then we could find the others…"

The figure with the red eyes came closer, noting that the girl had not moved in quite a while—and seemed in no hurry to alter her idleness, for that matter. And Ash heard it—the patter of footsteps, but not of the two-legged variety—no, there was something walking behind her that was walking on four legs.

"Hello?" she said weakly, not wanting to turn around; hoping that it was one of her friends. But it couldn't be—none of her friends walked around on all fours.

There was no answer to her question, not that she had expected one. Gulping noticeably, she turned, preparing herself for what she might face…

(end)

"It's looking better…" discerned Kay. She was staring at Shade's face, which had since stopped bleeding. However, there was still a large gash below his right eye, which ran all the way to the side of his cheek.

"It's feeling a little better as well," Shade added, wincing as he stood up from where he had been sitting, to evaluate his wound. "Maybe it'll heal itself if I go back to human form…"

"I don't know…" Kay said. "I got hit in the head one day at examinations, and still had a headache for three days afterward, even when I was in human form. So I doubt it—still, though, you should go back to human form now. We all have…"

"We…" Shade repeated, with a tone of bemusement. But then his face softened. "Oh!" he exclaimed, and leapt forward and shifted to human form in one swift movement. He spun to his left, and then to his right, at which point he found what—or, rather, who—he was looking for.

Raffi glanced at Shade with a look of discomfiture, the same look that she had had when she initially realized that she had accidentally hurt him. It hadn't left her face since.

Shade walked over to her, his eyes not leaving hers. In moments he was directly in front of her, saying nothing.

"Hi…" Raffi said awkwardly.

Shade answered this with, once more, not a word—rather, a more silent show of his feelings. He threw his arms forward and around her, encompassing her in a tight embrace. With an exasperated sigh, Raffi returned the embrace, and Shade kissed her forehead lightly. "I'm so glad you're okay…" said Shade exuberantly. "I thought I'd never find you!"

"Yeah…" Raffi nodded, her eyes perusing the ground before her.

Shade's arms left her. He stared down at her. "Raffi… what's wrong."

Raffi shook her head, wincing. "You shouldn't have come…"

"What?"

"Oh, Shade… it must be a trap—they laid me down here so that you could find me… and now you have."

"What do you mean?"

"They couldn't have just captured me and set me down here if they had no ulterior motive. They_ wanted _us to come down here. And they've succeeded."

She paused. To this, Shade replied, "How do you figure this?"

"I've been thinking about it ever since I found myself down here. I knew that if you found me, they would only be getting what they wanted. Don't you see, Shade? The Reich wants us ALL down here."

"And we are… but we're all spread out, now…"

"Then they're going to kill us all," Raffi stammered, looking into Shade's eyes. "One by one."

From the distance there came a piercing scream, one that caused the blood to run cold. It was followed by a roar, of something definitely not human.

Raffi gasped quietly, tears filling her eyes. Shade's mouth was hung open slightly, looking from Raffi to the distant reaches of the labyrinth, where the scream had come from.

"G-guys…" stuttered Kay. "That was… Ash, wasn't it?"

(end)

"Did you hear that?"

"Of _course _I did… sounded like a scream."

James and Kate had stopped at these words, listening off into the distance. But this did not last long, as soon after, James began to walk once more.

"Wait!" Kate exclaimed, pulling at James' arm. "It sounded like Ash. It sounded like she was in trouble!"

"Jay probably jumped out from the shadows or from behind a corner at her," replied James. "Don't worry about it. She's fine."

Kate fell silent, and stayed slightly behind James as they continued to walk. A few moments later, James sighed in annoyance. "Still nothing. I'm beginning to think that this maze has _no _exit."

"No exit? Then what's the point?"

"To keep us in," said James quietly.

Kate gazed at him, trying to determine whether he was joking or was, in fact, remarkably serious. He glanced aside, his eyes wandering to the area behind him. His eyes widened.

"What is it?" asked Kate nervously.

"Get behind me," he replied through gritted teeth.

Kate obeyed without a question, although there were many rotating in her mind. She poked her head around his right arm, trying to find what had caught James' attention.

What appeared to be a shadow without a body was sliding among the right wall, in their direction. When it was about twenty feet away, it paused, and the shadow quite literally extracted itself from the wall—and in the process, gaining a new form. The shadow shifted and distorted, doing so until it had a noticeably-human shape. It then lightened, and other distinct qualities began to appear.

"Lord, no…" Kate whispered, witnessing the final product. James hands shook, his eyes not leaving the figure before him.

It was dressed in white from bottom to top, and its head was covered by a white hood. The Reich member crossed its arms, and laughed heartily. While they could not see its face, James and Kate knew that it was staring right at them—they could feel it.

"Greetings, my children," said a dark male voice that came from the darkness under the white hood. "I am Marcus Feisley."

"One of the Sovereign's right-hand men," whispered James.

"You know of me? Why, you would find me to be flattered, my children, if you could see my face…"

Feisley's arms unfolded. "I do thank you for venturing down here yourselves… it made it so much easier to capture you. Then—had it not been for my ingenious scheme of capturing one of your own, you would never have been down here in the first place!"

"What do you want?" James snarled.

"Why, I want what is best for my people—something that, from what I hear, my colleague Mr. Harrelson is already carrying out with one of your most unfortunate friends."

"And what's that?"

"The extermination of our principal threat," Feisley said darkly, "of course."

END CHAPTER


	11. Chapter 11

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 2: The Rescue Mission

Chapter 5: The Reich's Secret

She didn't know exactly what it was that she was facing, but Ash believed it to be some kind of large wolf—one significantly larger than what she knew wolves to usually be. And then, of course, there were the red eyes—once more, not a normal characteristic of a common wolf. It was the red eyes that she had first viewed, and thus had caused her to scream in surprise—thereafter, she noticed the rest of the creature's figure as it came into view.

The wolf had begun to growl menacingly shortly after, letting out the long roar that had followed Ash's scream (it hadn't howled, another way that this wolf differed from others). Its red glare pierced Ash's eyes, and she felt powerless to move—even though she wanted to more than anything. The wolf inched closer, one step after the other, its tail wagging back and forth slowly and anticipatorily. And then, it jumped—

When she saw the wolf leap, the connection that had been present between Ash's eyes and the wolf's eyes were broken, and Ash quickly darted to her side—but not before one of the wolf's extended claws nicked her right ankle. "Uhh!" grunted Ash, rolling onto the ground and propping herself up with her arms. At that moment, she wanted more than anything to address the wound she had just received, but she couldn't—the wolf was back on the offensive.

The wolf lunged for her again, its dagger-like fangs bared and its front claws outstretched. But this time, Ash was ready—or, at least, as ready as she'd ever be. She dashed to the side again, sliding across the floor just as the wolf passed her. The wolf was unable to stop in time, and thus it smacked into the stone wall in front of it, dazing the wolf for a few moments. Ash recognized this as her best chance to catch a break in the action, and jumped to her feet. "I don't appreciate you catching me off guard like that…" she said, trying to sound as confident and unwavering as possible. "Now it's time for a little payback—courtesy of Lao Shi's Soldiers." At these words, Ash leapt forward, shifting into her dragon form quickly. With a singular beat of her wings, she rushed towards the wolf, which seemed to have recovered from its aforementioned daze. But it hadn't any time to react, and Ash, her right shoulder lowered, slammed into the wolf forcefully. The wolf went sprawling—and Ash, to an extent, did as well. But to her surprise, the wolf recovered quickly, giving Ash a feral side glance as it cam to it feet.

Ash growled in frustration. "Still standing, eh? We'll have to change that, won't we?" She lunged once more, readying herself to send a ball of fire at the wolf, hoping that it would have a more adverse effect on her opponent.

But then, the wolf did something highly unexpected and extremely paradoxical. It leapt vertically, and then seemed to disappear—or, so Ash thought at first. "Where did it go?" she said aloud, spinning round and round in search of her enemy. "C'mon, show yourself!"

Ash was then knocked aback by some sort of unseen force. It slammed into her jaw, but she was able to stay on her feet, although the blow itself was still numbing. "Where are you?!" she exclaimed once she had regained her composure. There, of course, was no answer, but soon after this, Ash finally found the wolf—only it wasn't a wolf anymore. It was small, and brown and white, with a beak and wings…

"An eagle?! What happened to the wolf?"

Then she realized it, although she didn't have much time to really think fully. "You're a shape shifter…" she whispered, and then dove out of the way as the eagle soared at her head. Once she got back up, she paused. "Kenneth Harrelson, one of the Reich's leaders…"

But unfortunately for her, Ash hadn't paid as much attention this time, and therefore when the eagle returned, she wasn't prepared for defense. Talons first, it slashed at the back of Ash's head, and Ash cried out awfully, clutching the back of her head to feel a few large gashes, all of which were oozing blood. Pain throbbed through her head, causing her to wince and drop to the ground, one arm propping herself up and the other still at the back of her head, trying in vain to cease her bleeding.

Her vision began to blur and darken. She looked up ahead of her, where she found the eagle to have landed (A/N: I crack myself up) about ten feet away. Suddenly, the eagle's feathers began to recede, sucking up into her body. The eagle began to grow in size, its shape contorting and twisting into a new one. The beak softened, melting into its face, and its wings shriveled and reformed into slightly more familiar arms—those of a human.

The figure continued to fill out, taking a noticeably human shape. Through her failing vision, Ash could see that the figure seemed to be completely white—dressed in white, perhaps? Yes, that was it—fully white, from head to toe. There even appeared to be a white hood pulled over its head…

A wave of realization came over her soon after—she had been right, it had been the Reich. The figure began to walk toward her, and desperately she wanted to jump up and surprise it. But she couldn't—the darkness overtaking her eyesight had become more abundant, and it felt as if all her strength was leaving her…

The Reich member known as Kenneth Harrelson knelt beside her, eying the dragon amusedly. "Sweet dreams," he whispered sinisterly. But Ash never heard him.

(end)

"How did you know we were coming?" demanded James.

Marcus Feisley shrugged. "It was a hunch, I suppose. What—did you honestly believe that we wouldn't expect someone to come and try to free our captives? Especially their fellow dragons?

Feisley took another step towards Kate and James. "But, of course, discovering that someone had decided to come through our front door assisted in our discovery as well. But, does it matter now?—you're here, I'm here… now, tell me, what is there to do now?"

"Someone will come eventually," Kate said defiantly. "Atticus Stevenson sent us, and he's got even more powerful people with him! More powerful than you!"

Feisley laughed heartily. "Oh, Atticus Stevenson, that man is a joke. If only you children knew…"

"No, you're wrong! Atticus is a good man!"

"Good man or not, he is still weak, and not without his faults. In fact, you would be better off coming to work for my leader, the Sovereign—I think you'd find a few similarities in their methods. Unfortunately for you, there are no current job openings…"

"We don't need any job from you!" snapped James. "We'll never abandon Atticus!"

"Then perhaps it is about time that I finish what I came to start," Feisley said plainly. He took another few steps towards the two teens.

"Don't you come any closer!" Kate cried.

"Or what?"

"Or we'll fight!" growled James. Kate nodded in agreement.

Feisley reached up at his hood, and slowly pulled it down and around his neck. He had short, fiery red hair, spiked to the tips, and a face with a vilifying grin and deep blue eyes that appeared to have emotions of their own. "Now, _that's _the silver lining I've been searching for!" he exclaimed brightly. "Not only an excuse to take off that damned hood, but… dare I say it, a challenge?"

"That's right," Kate announced in reply. "We've been trained by Lao Shi, one of the greatest dragons in the world!"

"Lao Shi? I thought we killed that bloke…"

"Lao Shi survived the Dark Dragon, the deadliest magical creature of all time. What makes you think that you would pose more of a threat?"

"Well, the common conception is that the blast created at the Isle of Draco was to kill about ninety-nine percent of all living things in its vicinity—a smaller number than normal, because of the great size of the area covered. I did know that there were a few survivors… I simply did not expect Lao Shi to be one of them."

"You'd better believe it now!" exclaimed James. "What—are you scared of him?"

"Of Lao Shi? Young man, you do know how to make one laugh," Feisley snickered. "No, I am not scared of Lao Shi. We will just have to finish him off next time around…"

"Next time around?"

"Oh dear, I've said too much—clumsy me," said Feisley. "Don't you worry about any of that, though—you shall not be among the living when that time does come."

"That's enough!" James yelled. In a swift motion, he shifted into his dragon form and soared wildly at Feisley's idle figure. The man merely grinned, staring straight ahead, unwavering, as the black dragon at him. Kate looked on, not entirely ready to join in with the fight just yet. She saw James flying at Feisley, and in seconds it seemed as if they would collide… but instead, James halted quickly, having passed the spot where Feisly stood—or, at least, had stood.

"How rude of you!" Feisley's voice came from behind James. "You didn't even give me fair warning of our start!"

James whirled around, to behold Feisley, standing with his hands placed on his sides and a smug grin on his face. "But wait, perhaps I was wrong in my aforementioned statement. Tell me—is our combat to be turn-based?"

James lunged forward again, even more wildly than before. But once more, he was met with an empty space where Feisley had stood.

"My turn."

Feisley had appeared behind James again—he was teleporting! "Look out, James!" Kate called quickly, but James had no time to react. Before he could turn around, he was flying involuntarily into the air, and then stopped, as if he was being held there by some invisible force—or, perhaps, magic.

Kate stared in shock at James, and then slowly averted her gaze to Feisley. Both of his arms were outstretched forward, and surging light radiated from the tips of his hands. "This'll keep you from going out of turn again."

Slowly, James' body, which had now been rendered immovable by James himself, began to float toward Feisley. "You see, I have been called an assortment of dishonorable things in my life—and, as it might be said, for good reason—but I am a fair fighter nonetheless."

"No, you're not," grimaced James, his mouth and eyes the only parts of his body he was able to move. "You're crazy."

"That's nothing I haven't heard before," replied Feisley. "Now… shall we choose to await our turn before trying to attack next time?"

"No," James said. "I say we have a free-for-all, no turns—unless that's out of your nature."

"A rules change?" asked Feisley. "Hm… I think I could acquiesce that." He paused. "Then, in that case… let round one commence." And with this, Feisley threw his arms out in front of him in a sideways motion, and James was hurled to his right, smashing into one of the stone walls and collapsed in a heap.

"No!" Kate blurted. She shifted into her dragon form on the spot, and sent a group of thick vines hurtling at Feisley's figure. But Feisley, who had merely glanced at this unfolding occurrence, put up his right hand and produced an invisible force field, against which the vines smacked and writhed to the ground.

James blinked, trying to shrug off the daze that he had been put in by his impact against the wall. He stared up at Feisley, who was still standing in his exact-same spot, but was now eying Kate irately. "I was not aware that you were a part of this," said Feisley. "But if you insist…"

In a split second, Feisley vanished, but reappeared moments later… _right behind Kate's unknowing figure. _

"Kate!" James exclaimed as loud as he could. "Behind you!"

But Kate had no time to counter, as Feisley quickly threw an arm around her neck, holding her at her spot. "Had I not made it clear that this would be a moral conflict?" he whispered into her ear. "I am quite sure that I did. Now, what will we do about this…?"

"Please…" Kate cried, her eyes squinted in fear and her voice faltering.

"Perhaps…" whispered Feisley thoughtfully. "you shall be the first to join your friend in the afterlife." From his robe, he produced a small dagger, which he soon held against her neck. A few drops of blood trickled from the spot where Feisley held the dagger. "And, oh yes, I am certain that Mr. Harrelson has already finished off your friend… Ashleigh, is it? He always gets his prey…"

He paused, and then whispered even more quietly, "As do I…"

(end)

"It came from this way; I'm certain of it!" exclaimed Kay, as she rounded a corner rather sharply. "C'mon, we gotta hurry!"

Shade and Raffi followed closely in tow. The trio had reacted to hearing Ash's scream speedily, and had taken off in what Kay presumed to be the direction from whence the scream had come. But, with all of the twists and turns, she could've been wrong…

But she was right, they had to hurry—time was of the essence. A second wasted could prove fatal for Ash, or for any of the others.

Up ahead shone the bright columns at the center of the maze, a place where Kay and Shade had not yet been—but where Raffi, however, had been. "That's the center of the place right up there!" she called out as they ran. "It's where I started at. It's like a hub—there are paths leading in all directions there."

"Good," replied Shade. "Then that can be a meeting place from now on, especially if we can get to Ash in time…"

And he left the last part of the sentence off, as he did not know, and nor did others, what had happened to Ash, what had caused her to scream. They couldn't know if the situation she was in was deadly, or if it had been some sort of false alarm. They sure hoped it was the latter. But even so, they were in no position to make assumptions—they had to know for sure.

After rounding another corner, Kay found there to be a figure up ahead—could it be Ash? "Ash?" called Kay uncertainly as she continued to run. "Is that you?"

"No, it's Laura!" called the figure back. Upon nearing it, Shade, Kay, and Raffi were able to determine that it was Laura, who had apparently been venturing in their direction. "I heard someone scream—it sounded like Ash. What's going on?"

"We don't know," huffed Kay. "That's where we're headed…" She sprinted past Laura without the slightest hesitation, and thus Laura began to trot slowly after her. Soon, Shade and Raffi caught up to her. "Raffi!" Laura exclaimed. "I was just looking for you… I got a vision while in the central chamber that you were here, so I had come to look for you…"

"A vision?" asked Raffi curiously.

"I'll explain later," Shade replied shortly; then, turning to Laura, whispered, "I thought we said not to use that power anymore."

"I was fine, Shade!" Laura said. "I saw Raffi's pen, and I knew how much we needed to find her, so I just concentrated really hard and… I didn't even pass out!"

"Still, let's not make it a habit," whispered Shade in return. "We can't risk what happened last time."

"Okay. D'you think you could slow Kay down? I know where Ash was last, or at least the general area, so I can get us there the easiest without getting lost, I think."

"Yes, good point," Shade said. Then, calling to Kay: "Slow down, Kay. Let Laura lead—she has a better idea of where she's going."

"Good, because I don't," said Kay with a sigh of relief. She dropped back, and Laura pulled out to a slight lead.

In moments, they were at the central chamber of the maze. Laura did not stop, however, so Kay and Shade were given only seconds to survey the room's contents—the stone bed, the lightning bolt—inscribed towers…

It was about a minute later when the group reached the same long corridor that Jay, Laura, and Ash had split up in. "Ash went straight…" said Laura thoughtfully. "So she's gotta be down around the corner somewhere… either to the left or to the right."

They moved again. They neared the end of the corridor soon after, rushing out into the middle of the path that traversed their former path. They looked to the left… and found nothing. But of course, Laura thought, Jay would've gone that way; Ash wouldn't have as well. But it made her wonder nevertheless—where was Jay during all this? Had he reacted quicker to Ash's scream and was already on the scene? Hastily, they turned to the right… and off in the distance, there appeared to be a figure—maybe more. But it was dark, and the supposed figure was rather far way, so mere assumptions were the object of the game.

Without a word, the group began to run again—quicker, this time, for finally they had found something that might be of interest. As they ran, it did not become darker (luckily), and the figure did become more distinguishable. Suddenly, Shade, who had been out at the front of the group at that point, began to slow. The three others followed suit, although they did not know the reason for the hindrance of speed. Finally, Shade had come to a stop. They stared ahead—and found why, exactly, he had been so hesitant.

A white-robed humanoid figure was faced away from them, knelt down onto its knees. And now, given their close proximity, they could make out another figure—a dark-bluish dragon, sprawled out on the ground…

"Ash!" Kay cried out, unable to maintain the silence. She clasped her hands over her mouth agonizingly thereafter, horrified at what she had just done.

Slowly, the robed figure began to arise. It turned once it was at its full height, and although they could not see the face of the figure because of its large white hood, they knew now what it was…

"The Reich!" growled Shade.

There was a short silence that followed Shade's statement, but then, the figure spoke in a low, dark tone: "I expect you've come to join your friend?"

"Step away from her!" Laura yelled. "You're not going to hurt her—we won't let you!"

"Hurt her? Well, I think you're a bit late to prevent that, my dear," replied the robed figure coldly. "For if you'll notice, she appears to be slightly indisposed at the moment…"

Ash's frame had not moved since they had reached the Reich member.

"I don't care what you've done to her…" said Shade, "'cause now, you're gonna have to fight us…"

"Four against one, eh?" shot back the figure. "I do like a challenge, especially when, it seems, the odds are stacked against me."

"Yeah, and you've got none of your Reich cronies to help you out!" Raffi taunted.

"You're a smart one, aren't you? Yes, you're right, I am all alone. But you're unaware of one aspect of my being… and a highly key facet, at that."

"And that is…?"

"Patience, my dear…" said the Reich member.

"God, I'm tired of this!" Shade exclaimed. He rushed forward, shifted into his dragon form, and sped swiftly at his opponent. But to his surprise, the Reich member essentially disappeared in front of him, taking some sort of new form…

"He's a shape shifter, Shade!" Raffi yelled, and then paused in thought. "Kenneth Harrelson!"

"Thanks, I think I've got that!" barked Shade as he spun around to find Harrelson, who had, as with his battle with Ash, taken the form of an eagle. But this was only for a few moments, as shortly after, Harrelson changed into a new form—a non-flying one, at that.

"He's a bull now!" shouted Laura in warning. "Look out!"

Harrelson, now a bull, rushed at Shade, a mad gleam in its eyes. But Shade was ready, at least partially, and, using what strength he had, gripped the bull at the head, planting himself as firmly as he could on the ground. But still, the impact of the bull against his body caused Shade to skate backwards, although it was apparent that he had been able to disrupt some of Harrelson's momentum.

"Guys, I could use some help over here!" yelled Shade through gritted teeth.

"He's right!" Kay exclaimed, turning to Raffi and Laura. "There's no way he can take all four of us!"

The others nodded in agreement, and together the three girls morphed into dragons and hurried in Shade's aid. "Y'all wanna try a sideswipe?" Laura asked.

"A what?" asked Raffi timidly.

"Kay, you remember, right?"

"Do I?" smirked Kay.

"Raffi, just hang back," announced Laura. "Leave this to us."

Laura and Kay soared through the air, two abreast, in Harrelson and Shade's direction. They separated slightly, so that the space between them was tantamount to the width of Harrelson's bull form. When they were mere feet from the warring duo, Laura and Kay stuck out their claws—Laura, her right; Kay, her left. They flew past the bull, slashing their claws against Harrelson's rough skin.

The bull roared in pain, its legs buckling underneath it. Laura and Kay kept their claws set against Harrelson all the way to his neck, at which point they peeled away, so as to avoid crashing into Shade's stature.

Shade's struggle against Harrelson was finally able to cease. He stepped back vaguely, surveying his debilitated enemy. "Laura! Kay!" ordered Shade. "Go tend to Ash; make sure she's alright!" Then, he turned to Raffi. "Raffi, let's finish him…"

Raffi nodded, although she was unsure what, exactly, Shade had in mind. Quickly, Shade grabbed the bull by the horns (A/N: Oh lolz there I go again…) and, his face clenched as he attempted to utilize as much vigor as possible, spun Harrelson around and tossed him into the air. "Kick it!" called Shade to Raffi as the bull came careening toward her. "We learned this in training one day, remember? Kick him back to me!"

Raffi did remember—it had been about halfway through their stay at the academy, and Lao Shi had worked with them on 'volleys,' wherein they would either kick or punch an airborne object back where it came from. Granted, Raffi knew that this would be rather hard to do, given the bull's large mass, but it was worth a try. "Comin' back at you, Shade!" she exclaimed, with a hint of indecisiveness in her voice, although not enough to be fully noticed. She flew into the air and, when Harrelson was in her vicinity, threw out her right leg in a kicking motion. And, although it moderately hurt her leg to do so, she was able to connect with the bull, and thus Harrelson was sent back in the opposite direction, although not as high as he had been.

This did not give Shade much time to react, but he had already planned out his course of action prior, so he was ready. He sent a long stream of ice at Harrelson, one wide enough to encompass his entire being. It took a few moments, but soon, Harrelson was covered from head to toe in a solid block of ice. Shade then moved swiftly, so as to avoid Harrelson's incoming figure. And finally, Harrelson's frame thudded against the ground, ice scattering all over, although the sheet of ice surrounding Harrelson was so thick that not all of the ice was broken, and thus he was still rendered immobile.

Raffi rushed to Shade's side. "Amazing!" she exclaimed brightly, embracing him in a tight hug. "Was that your plan all along?"

"Yeah, actually," replied Shade. "But I didn't expect the ice to hold like it did. I figured it'd break on impact."

"So… does that mean we've won?"

"Yeah… it looks like it," nodded Shade.

(end)

Feisley's eyes widened, and then his gaze dulled considerably. His arms were still holding Kate against him, the dagger at rest alongside her throat. James lay nearby, still attempting to snap out of his daze so that he could stop Feisley. But he couldn't… he felt powerless to do so… even in Kate's time of dire need…

Feisley growled. "It would appear…" he said coldly, "that the status of my colleague, Mr. Harrelson, has been gravely altered."

James grinned slightly. This had to mean that the others had stopped Harrelson…somehow.

In a quick motion, Feisley removed the dagger from Kate's throat and shoved her to the ground. He slid his weapon back into his robe, and then stared forward at Kate and James, as James had risen and had come to Kate's aid, albeit slowly. "Do not think of this as a victory," Feisley began, "for I warn you—we will meet again. Do recall, a good number of the greatest battles in history were not continuous. Thus, our little conflict, inside this war, shall be so." He brought his hands to his hood, and pulled it over his head. "I repeat, my children, this is not over. I will not meet you again here, in this place… but rest assured, a conclusion to our divergence shall come in the future. Until that day comes (and I look forward to it), well, I bid thee farewell."

Before either James or Kate could respond, Feisley walked over to the nearest wall, and, as he had entered into their presence, dissolved into the wall, becoming an ethereal dark shadow on its side. It left their presence quickly, sliding among the wall and off into the distance.

James watched the shadow until it was out of sight, and then turned to Kate. "Are you alright?"

"…I've never been so scared in my life…" stuttered Kate in reply.

"But without you, he surely would've killed me," James said as he helped her onto her feet. He rested a talon on her shoulder. "And I thank you for that…"

Kate nodded slowly. "I had to distract him somehow, I guess…"

James smiled. "And that you did." He then turned in the direction where Feisley had left. "C'mon, I have a feeling that whatever has stopped Harrelson has something to do with the others…" And with that, they left to pursue Feisley, wherever he was off to…

(end)

"Yeah, he's definitely not moving…" commented Shade on Harrelson's bull form, which was still idle inside the block of ice. "I don't think he can even shift his form now!"

"Agreed," added Raffi. "So what should we do with him?"

"Well, we should try to contact Jay, Kate, and James… get them over here," Shade replied. "We can go from there. I dunno what to do with him right now…"

"…then perhaps I might be able to take him off of your hands!" shouted a voice from behind them.

Before they could react, Raffi and Shade were both knocked to the ground by a certain force. They then quickly turned their heads, so as to determine what—or who—had knocked them to the ground.

Now knelt beside the block of ice that contained Harrelson was another white-robed figure, another member of the Reich. "It looks like Kenneth finally met his match…" spoke the robed figure. "This quite interests me, if I am to be frank." He placed his hands on the ice, and, as if by magic, the ice began to melt away.

"Stop!" yelled Shade. He leapt from the ground and bounded at the Reich members. But the kneeling figure, with a flick of his wrist, sent Shade sprawling backward. Kay and Laura, who had been tending to Ash's idle form, had stopped momentarily to watch these events unfold.

Soon, the ice was completely melted away, and slowly, the bull began to lessen in size, reverting to human form—its dark brown hair receding into its body, the snout diminishing as human facial features began to form, its hooves splitting into five separate digits. Soon, Harrelson's human form lay where the bull had been, although the bloody scars on his sides that had been inflicted by Kay and Laura were still present, and at that point his eyes were shut tight.

"How unfortunate," muttered the other Reich member. He laid his hands on Harrelson's figure once more, and in a flash, both disappeared into the air, nowhere to be seen.

Raffi stood up, and then walked over to Shade, helping him up. "Thanks…" he mumbled, brushing himself off. "I wonder what that was all about."

"Apparently, someone had come to save Harrelson and take him back to…wherever," said Raffi. "D'you think it's over?"

"For now," Shade replied. "Here, let's go see how Ash is doing…"

They walked over to Kay and Laura, who were still knelt beside Ash—still in her dragon form. Kay and Laura, however, were already human once more, and soon after, Shade and Raffi joined them. "How's she doing?" Raffi asked.

"Breathing," replied Kay. "Apparently, Harrelson couldn't finish the job… I think we got here just in time."

"Has she responded yet?"

"No, but we're working on it," Laura said. "It's the back of her head; I think that Harrelson was in his eagle form and sliced the back of it. If we could just wake her up and get her back into her human form, it would be easier to at least hinder her wounds… luckily, she has stopped bleeding, though…"

Shade turned to Raffi. "If we could splash some water on her, we might be able to wake her up… and that would clean up the back of her head, as well. If I can lay out some thin ice on her head, and you can heat it up… maybe it'll work."

"Worth a try," nodded Raffi. "Let's do it…"

(end)

"How did this happen?" Feisley asked sternly.

Harrelson slumped into a nearby chair. "They ganged up on me, Marcus. I had Ashleigh nearly finished off, when _they _showed up…"

Feisley sighed, and paced around the room they were now in—a white-walled room, with an enormous screen and various controls and buttons on one side; on the other side, a row of individual doors, which stretched on much further than the room they were in. "I had thought, Kenneth, that you, of all people, would foresee this! You, of all people, would know the children's strengths and weaknesses!"

"I do," grimaced Harrelson. "I have been studying them for quite some time. But I was greatly outnumbered! Four to one! What was I supposed to do?"

Feisley stepped towards one of the doors, saying nothing immediately. "ARGH!" he grunted, slamming his fists against the door. Then, keeping one fist raised against the door, cocked his head slightly toward Harrelson. "The Sovereign will not be pleased… he'll have our heads for this."

"It's not over yet!" exclaimed Harrelson, who stood up quickly, but then sat back down, clutching his sides in pain. "We can still finish the job later on…"

Feisley turned completely toward Harrelson. "You heard his instructions!—dispose of all of the children. They are now our principal threat, and after today, they have become only more imposing." He began rubbing his forehead methodically. "It's the training they received at the academy, I just know it… it wasn't supposed to be like this."

Harrelson stood up again and, ignoring his abrasions, ambled over to Feisley until he was right at his face. "Do not worry," he said in a low, hushed voice. "This all can still be righted."

"How so?" asked Feisley.

"Report back to the Sovereign, and explain to him that we shall need a bit more time with the children. Convince him to speed up the injection process on our captives."

"And what about you?"

"I will continue my studies," said Harrelson with a pained grin. "As such, I will be sure that the children find their way out of the labyrinth. No matter what occurs after that, they will return to the academy. We can converge on them while they are there…"

"Do you think that will work?" Feisley asked doubtfully.

"Of course it will work," Harrelson nodded. "That academy is not as reclusive, nor as safe, as they believe…"

"Let the power of the Sovereign be with you," said Feisley. He placed his hands on Harrelson's sides, where his wounds were. Harrelson winced at this, but soon was soothed. He unbuttoned his robe halfway, so that he could view his midriff. The scars were disappearing, leaving the skin as bare as it had been previously. In seconds, one could not tell that Harrelson had ever been attacked.

"Thank you, brother," Harrelson bowed to his colleague, buttoning up his robe. He turned on his heel and started out of the room, while Feisley rubbed his head once more and then teleported away.

(end)

Ash coughed, her eyes fluttering open. She moaned soon after this, and rolled over onto her back. "Hello…?" she asked weakly.

"It worked," Shade grinned at Raffi. "Awesome." He then turned to Ash. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Was I dead?"

"No, but you probably would've been, if we hadn't shown up," Kay chimed in.

Ash grunted, raising and propping herself up with her arms. "Where's Harrelson?"

"Gone," replied Raffi. "We beat him bad, in fact."

One of Ash's hands went to the back of her head. "Why is my head still wet?" she asked. "I'm not still bleeding, am I?"

"No, it's water. It's how we woke you up… we weren't able to any other way."

"I guess I should thank you guys, shouldn't I?"

"No need to," said Shade. "We're just glad to have you back." He held out a hand, and Ash took it, so that she could be helped up. She slowly reverted back to human form, and when she was fully human, began to collapse again.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Shade, as he grabbed one of her arms. Laura quickly grasped the other. "I guess you're not gonna be able to stand by yourself yet…"

"Just give me a sec," Ash replied. "I'll be…fine."

There were footsteps reverberating through the stone corridors, and it seemed to be coming from the area from whence they had initially came. "Not again…" whispered Raffi. "I think someone's coming!"

And there was someone coming, although their intentions were friendly. "It's James and Kate!" Kay exclaimed. "They must've heard us!"

"We came as quick as we could!" said James, gasping for breath, when the duo reached the larger group. "Has he been here?"

"Harrelson? Yeah, and he left rather quickly, I would say…" beamed Laura.

"No, not Harrelson… Feisley! Marcus Feisley!"

"Marcus Feisley is here too?" Shade asked alarmingly. Then, he receded into deep thought, before saying, "He was the other robed figure…"

"So he's been here?"

"Yeah," replied Shade. "And he took away Harrelson before we could figure out what to do with him. They're both gone…"

James sighed in disappointment. "Well, at least we're all alright…" Then, looking at Ash: "Most of us, at least."

"Did you guys find an exit?" asked Kay.

"No, did you?" Kate replied.

Everyone shook their heads. "It's like this place has no exit…" grumbled James. "But it's gotta…"

"We could go back to the central chamber of the labyrinth," Raffi suggested. "We could regroup there, and send everyone out from there. We haven't checked everywhere yet…"

The group could hear more footsteps. This time, it seemed to be only one person. This unnerved the group—could Harrelson or Feisley be returning for round two?

"Who's there?" asked Kate aloud.

"It's me," came Jay's voice. "I've missed everything, haven't I?"

"You sure have!" Kay exclaimed as Jay came into full view. "Where have you been?!"

Jay walked up to them slowly, clutching, it seemed, at his head. "I was just walking," he started, "when I saw something up ahead! I thought it might be a door outta here, or something, so I ran ahead. But when I neared what had caught my eye, I found that it definitely wasn't a door.

"It was a white-robed man!" he continued. "He was crouched, as if he had been waiting for me to walk by, but had been hiding. When I saw him, though, he arose, and said something… I couldn't tell what, exactly. And then, before I could react, he disappeared… and then I felt something hit my head from behind me… and that's all I remember.

"I woke up after that," said he, "and heard you guys. So I came to find you…"

"It must've been Harrelson," Ash said. "He did the same thing to me."

"But Feisley's a teleporter," said James. "It could've been him..."

"Either way," Shade said, "we're all together now. And I say that we go with Raffi's idea."

"Sounds good to me," Laura said. "Since Shade and I gotta help Ash, we'll lead. Everyone follow us…"

And about ten minutes later, they were in the central room of the maze, where Raffi's tenure in the labyrinth had begun and where Laura had received her most-recent vision. Shade and Laura propped Ash up onto the stone bed, while the others began to talk of a plan.

"So… do you think we should split up into pairs?" asked James. "Eight of us, four different paths…"

"This didn't work last time," Jay said. "What makes you think it will this time?"

Laura turned away in disgust. She knew that this would not end well… in the end, no one would be able to figure anything out. It was this maze that was doing this to them… this maze that had no apparent exits…

But then, something caught her eye: the lightning bolts on the columns that lit the chamber. What were they for? Why lightning bolts?

"Do you have a better idea?" James asked.

"As a matter of fact, no," replied Jay. "This place has no exit; I'm sure of it. The Reich just wants us to stay here. The best thing to do is to stay here, so that we're at least all together!"

James scowled, staring down at the ground. Then, he was about to say something else… but instead, his gaze rested on something else.

"Laura, why are you in your dragon form?"

"I have an idea…" Laura said, glancing around at the four columns. "Pay attention, everyone… I don't want anyone to get hurt."

She pointed one talon at the closest column. And then, she sent a current of electricity at the column—or, rather, the glowing lightning bolt.

At this, the bolt glowed brighter. Brighter, brighter… and then a beam of light shot at the column next to it. This process repeated until all four columns were glowing bright, and beams of light connected all of the columns.

There came a sound of rumbling from inside the chamber. The stone bed began to shake, causing Ash to leap from it as quickly as she could, holding herself up on James' arm. The bed then started to move to the side, scratching against the stone floor, as it revealed something underneath where it had once sat.

The rumbling stopped, and so did the bed. The temporary brightness of the columns dimmed, and soon, all was back to the way it had been at first—save, of course, for the new location of the bed.

Jay walked over to the spot where the bed had once sat, and then stepped back. "It's a staircase…" he announced to the rest of the group. "And a short one, at that. I can see the bottom from here!"

Shade looked at Jay in awe, and then turned to Laura, who was back in her human form. "How did you…?"

"I remembered the flame symbol on the wall a while ago," explained Laura, "and how it activated the door to get down here. When I saw the lightning bolts, I wondered if that would have some kind of similarity to the flame symbol… and it looks like I was right."

"Shall we go down, then?" Jay said, returning attention to the newly-found staircase.

"If it's a way outta here, count me in!" Kate exclaimed. She rushed over and hurried down the stairs without hesitation. The others followed, James and Shade helping Ash down the stairs.

They came to, at the bottom of the stairs, a moderately-sized room… a room that emptied into a long, narrow corridor, which was lined by doors as far as the eye could see. The walls were completely white, and the place itself was only dimly-lit. On one side of the room they had just entered into was a large screen, with many controls around it, as well as a few chairs—perhaps some sort of supercomputer.

"…are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Laura asked, eyes wide.

"It's the place! It's where the captive dragons are!" Raffi cried out. "Don't you think?—there's all these doors! This is what Feisley and Harrelson were trying to keep us from."

"One problem," announced Kay, standing at the nearest door with her hand on the handle. "Locked doors."

"There's gotta be a button somewhere…" said Shade. "A universal one, that opens all of the doors. Everyone, get looking!"

The group spread out throughout the room, scrutinizing every aspect of the room. "It's probably over here," Jay said from the area of the room where the controls and buttons were.

"Yeah, and I think I've found it," Raffi said. She pointed at a large red button that was not labeled. "It just kinda screams 'don't push me,' don't you think?"

"Push it," Shade said. "Let's find out."

Raffi complied, and as if on cue, all the doors opened synchronically. "Alright!" Kay shouted with glee. She rounded the door and went into the room, expecting to see either a kid or a dragon… but instead…

"There's nothing in here!"

Shade's eyes widened. "Someone check the other rooms!" he ordered. The next five rooms were checked—and still, nothing. It looked as if no one had ever been in the rooms, for that matter.

The large screen in front of them flickered on noticeably. All eight teens turned to look, and joined each other at the center of the room.

A white-robed figure had appeared on the screen. It was seated on a large wooden chair, with the backdrop of a tinted wall and a glowing fireplace, and various adornments on the wall.

"Greetings, children," spoke the figure, whose mouth could not be seen because of the large white hood over its head. It was a man—and, as it seemed, an old one at that. "I am the Sovereign.

"If you are receiving this message, you have not only made it out of the labyrinth, but you have evaded two of my most powerful constituents. Be it known, however, that while I make this message for you in the case that my plan fails, I do not expect this message to be used, as I expect Mr. Feisley and Mr. Harrelson to eliminate you once you are inside the labyrinth. If, however, I am proved erroneous, there shall be much elucidation needed if I am to spare my two dear contemporaries.

"As I am sure you have noticed, the ninety captive dragons are not here. Confused? Yes, I am sure you are. Allow me to let you in on a little secret—they never were here! We planted false information for your friends at the academy in order to lead you all here. And while, it seems, we have failed in our initial plan, this will not change a thing.

"We still have the dragons. They are currently being held at our _real _headquarters. Where that is, I will not say—you've made it this far; I am sure that, given time, you might be able to figure it out for yourselves. But I doubt that, I really do—if you have not determined where the dragons are hidden yet, I doubt you ever will.

"I know that one among you is named Laura, and Laura, I know that you have some questions for me. And to answer you—yes, it is true that we were able to activate your psychic ability. However, the vision that you saw in the operation room was a fabrication, a lie—it never happened… at least, in that room. We awakened your ability so that you could witness this vision, which we planted there in hopes that you would come across it, so that your group would continue to search our 'headquarters.' If we did not create a reason for you to believe that the dragons were here, would you have stayed? No, I do not think so.

"So, you all might be asking yourself, 'What now? Where do we go from here?' I have just one answer for you, children—run, and hide. Your academy is not as safe as you think it to be; if you return there, we will know, and we will find you. Your only option is to find a secure place, until we can pinpoint your exact location. You see, there is no way out of this—despite what you have been told, you are not prophesized to vanquish us, the all-powerful Reich. You are destined to die at our hands.

"Regrettably, I believe that I have exceeded my time I designated for this message. I have things to do, people to see, and magical creatures to exterminate… I hope you'll understand. There is a door at the end of the long corridor that will open upon the ending of this message—it is the exit. Do not fear, there will not be an ambush waiting for you. I will give you a head start. Not that it will matter…

"And with this, my children, I bid thee a pleasant return home, or a return to wherever you are headed. I expect that I, or at least one of my colleagues, will be meeting with you soon. But until then… it's your move."

END CHAPTER


	12. Chapter 12

The Dragon Chronicles

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 2: The Rescue Mission

Chapter 6: Secrets and Lies

As the Sovereign had promised, his televised message concluded with the opening of a narrow door at the brink of the attached corridor. It was the way out of this funhouse, this diversion—as now, they realized, the headquarters had not, in actuality, been a headquarters at all… rather, it had been a trap. A trap that the eight dragons of Lao Shi's Soldiers had readily stumbled into blindly, and had barely escaped from with their lives. As it was, the Reich had almost killed them. And, they would try it again—this, too, had been promised by the Sovereign.

Nevertheless, one could view the dragons' survival as a minor victory over their oppressors—and it was obvious that they did. After such a time inside the place, and after the disappointment brought about by discovering that the ninety captive dragons were not, as Atticus Stevenson and his associates had claimed, being held in that place, they were glad simply to be alive.

And so they began the final leg of their journey with an aura of relief and confusion, stepping down the long hallway and passing the various doors that had originally been thought of as containing the captive dragons. They did not know what the future held for them, exactly, but first, they would return to the academy. Perhaps there, they could plot out a further course of action—maybe Atticus had another lead on the dragons' locations. At the very least, they could rest, and speak to Lao Shi about what had happened…

James was the first to step outside. With his initial glance, he stared around at where the door had led them out to, and then to the area around the door, so as to determine where they were.

"What's it look like, James," asked Kay solemnly, as she stepped from the doorway with the rest of the group.

"We're on the side of a hill," James replied, "and the first building we went into is up there," he pointed up the hill. "It looks like we're behind where we went in, so the path we came in on will be over to the right. It should only take us a few minutes to get up there, I'd imagine."

"D'you think we could use our dragon forms to get up there?" asked Raffi. "I just wanna get home… I mean, to the academy. It would be faster, and we could find the Globe easier, right?"

"As long as you don't run into any trees," James said. "There's a lot of 'em around here."

"We _are _in a forest," said Shade, rolling his eyes. "Ash, will you be okay to fly?"

"Well, I've felt worse," replied the slightly-injured Ash, "but I still don't wanna push the envelope…"

"She can ride on my back…" said Jay. "I don't mind, really…"

"Then it's settled," Shade announced. "Everyone—dragon forms, now. I'll lead the way… Kate, you get up with me, though. I might need you to help me find the Globe once we're on the path… you remember were you hid it, right?"

"Vaguely."

"Alright," said Shade. "Let's go." And with this, the seven able teens shifted to their dragon forms and took off, Jay waiting a little while longer to allow Ash to climb on. In mere moments, the path on which they had walked to find the warehouse was in view. Leaving the building in hindsight, they soared through the forest via the narrow clearing, their eyes turned downward in search of the point where the Globe had touched down hours prior.

Suddenly, Kate called out, "Stop!" She swooped downwards, and Shade, having gone forward a bit longer before he could react, followed soon after. Kate touched down, and stared ahead, scrutinizing a group of trees before her. "It's there…" she pointed, and at this motion, two of the trees moved off to the side, separating from the positions they had been in previously. And there, in plain view, was the large silver object that the group knew as the Globe—their ticket back to the academy.

"Finally!" sighed Laura. She changed back into her human form and pried open the small hatch that was the door to the Globe, and then shuffled inside. The rest of the group followed suit thereafter, Jay closing the door quickly behind them.

The Globe began to rise immediately, as it seemed that it had been cued to depart for the academy as soon as the door was shut. The computer screens flickered on, and the familiar countdown clock appeared, with one hour and forty-five minutes shown to be remaining before they landed in the front lawn of the academy.

Unlike the trip to New York, however, the eight teens were a great deal closer to each other—rather than before, when they had been spread out amongst the interior room. Shade saw this as an opportunity for at least a slight chat with his partners—a little bit of planning before they returned to the academy and reported to Atticus. "So, everyone," he spoke, "what do you think we should tell Atticus when we get back?"

"Gee, I dunno," Ash said. "How about… 'You were wrong,' for starters…"

"But we'll still need to tell him who we fought, in addition," added Kay. "I mean, it was some sort of Reich stronghold, or at least meeting place—we did meet up with two of the highest-ranking Reich officials, after all…"

"That's right," James agreed. "And maybe Atticus and his associates had some other leads on possible places where Jake and the other dragons were being held. Who knows?—we could be leaving the academy again as early as tomorrow!"

"God, I hope not," Laura grumbled. "I just want some rest…" In response to this, Jay rested his arm around her, and she leaned against his side, closing her eyes.

"Maybe they'll be able to acquiesce that," said Shade. "I don't know. We can't discern how Atticus will react until we see him ourselves. All we can do is plan out how to break it to him… and to show him that the mission wasn't a complete failure…"

"And what about Master Shi?" asked Raffi. "What should we tell him?"

"We should thank him, of course!" Kay said. "We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for his training! I don't think we could've defeated Harrelson, either…"

"Harrelson's stronger than he let on," Jay commented. "Or, at least, that's what I think. You guys saw what he did in one-on-one combat. I believe that we only defeated him because, put simply, he was outnumbered. I don't think it'll be that easy next time…"

"And same with Feisley!" Kate exclaimed. "I swear to you all, I was about to die… he was gonna kill me and that was gonna be it. If Harrelson hadn't been beaten by you guys," she paused, "…I wouldn't be here right now… at least, not alive."

"I still see it as a victory," said Kay. "We can't dwell on what might've been—we should think about what truly happened. And guys, we stopped two of the Sovereign's right-hand men from killing us all. Despite what happens in the future, I'm content right now knowing that that happened."

Everyone nodded in agreement—save for Laura, who seemed to have drifted off to sleep. A prolonged silence followed this, as the rest of the group seemed to be deeply considering Laura's course of action, as they still had over an hour and a half before touch-down. But before this, James spoke: "You know, think about it—how would this have worked out if the dragons had actually been there and we had rescued them?"

"What do you mean, James?" asked Ash.

"Well, shoot… it'd be a bit crowded in here, don't you think?"

To this, everyone laughed heartily, and soon visions of an immensely-crowded room full of nearly a hundred kids, speaking incessantly in all kinds of different languages…

It was approximately an hour later when Shade awoke, not having, at first, realized that he had drifted off to sleep. He stared around groggily, noting that everyone was asleep as well. Or… _almost _everyone.

"Hey, Raffi," Shade walked up behind his girlfriend, rested his hands on her shoulders, and proceeded to gaze out of the same window she was seated at. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Didn't want to," Raffi replied. "I just wanted to think…"

"About what?"

"Well, today, of course," answered Raffi with a laugh. "I mean, you heard what the Sovereign said… we're as good as dead now."

"They'll have to find us first…"

"But how hard is that? Shade, they probably already know where the academy is! It couldn't be that difficult."

Shade sighed. "I know, Raffi. That's why we'll probably be staying at the academy less and less. We'll need to stay on the move."

"Unless…"

Raffi paused. Shade stared at her for a few moments, before saying, "Unless what?"

"I know we're supposed to be replacements, our only purpose to rescue the ninety captive dragons… but what if we took matters into our own hands?"

"How would we do that?" asked Shade.

"Remember when Atticus talked about the place in Europe? The place where he believes the Reich got their power?"

"Yeah… it was some sort of fountain, wasn't it?"

"Something like that. What if we went there, though? We could stop the Reich ourselves! Then, indirectly, we'd be freeing the captives!"

Shade sighed. "But that's not our job. We're working for Atticus Stevenson… and he's just trying to do what's best for the magical world. I don't want to go against that."

Raffi's eyes were cast downwards. "I guess you're right. I guess I just wanna be the hero for a change, you know?"

Shade threw his arms around Raffi's waist and laid his head against the back of hers'. "If we can pull this off, we will. We just have to trust Atticus on this…"

Raffi twisted around towards Shade, and smiled. "That would be nice…"

"I agree," nodded Shade.

Raffi stared into Shade's eyes for a few more moments before sighing. "Wow, I really need some sleep…"

"Then you'd better get sleeping… we've only got forty minutes before we get back to the academy."

Following this, Raffi rose slightly and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "That sounds fine with me," she said softly, and slid down the wall until she was seated on the floor, resting her head against the wall and closing her eyes. Shade joined her soon after, and then, all was idle inside the room.

It had begun to storm. The previous night's forecast had expected this to happen, although this would likely prove to put a damper on the remainder of the day nevertheless. Rain pounded against the windows noisily, and for a while there was a slight rumbling of thunder that resounded around them. As this went on, the storm seemed to grow progressively more aggressive, until all at once there was an enormous crash of thunder, with accompanying lightning, which shook the walls and floors of the room. At this, all inside the room awakened with a jolt, a few leaping up and staring around at their surroundings.

"Rain," Ash said unsteadily. "Wonderful."

"It's a good thing we're not out there, eh?" observed Kay as she stared through the drenched windows.

"Not right now, at least. But look…" groaned Raffi as she pointed at the computer screens behind them. The countdown clock had reached two minutes.

Everyone rushed to the windows of the Globe. They had begun a slight descent, and in the distance, the darkened roofs of the Stevenson Academy were coming into view. At this point, it had become dark, and thus there were many lamplights that were scattered all around the area.

The Globe touched down lightly, and the countdown clock vanished from the computer screen. The eight walked to the exit of the Globe hesitantly, for not only were they possibly leaving the room for the final time, but the imminence of their venturing into the imposing storm was drawing nearer.

"Everyone ready to run for their lives?" asked Laura, pulling her hoodie's ever-convenient hood over her head.

"As ready as we'll ever be…" Raffi muttered. She, being the person closest to the door, lifted open the exit and, after a split second of hesitation, rushed outside and into the pouring rain, the others following intently.

Obviously, it had been raining for some time at the academy, as the lawn had begun to flood slightly, water standing all throughout the grass up to the pavement. It was not a long run, but a wet one—and, truthfully, it was a slightly longer run for Ash, who could only jog slightly, as she found that she was still somewhat sore from her encounter with Harrelson hours prior.

Finally, bursting through the front door of the academy, which was gratefully unlocked, the eight spilled into the front lobby—cold, wet, and simply happy to finally be 'home.' Ash, the final one inside, closed the door behind them.

A familiar voice came from around the corner in the front office, which called, "I'll be with you in a moment, hold on!" Atticus Stevenson rounded the corner, calling back something into the office indistinctly before turning to his 'guests.' At first, there was a moment of hesitation that came from Atticus, but soon a broad smile had appeared upon his face. "Children! Welcome back!" he grinned. "Please, please, come with me," he said, motioning them into the front lobby.

"Atticus…" said Laura hesitantly, "you know we didn't rescue the dragons, right?"

"Why, of course I know that, Laura! Else they'd be coming on in with you m wouldn't they?" he chuckled. He took a spot near the bright, crackling fireplace, while the students filed into chairs amidst the room. Once everyone was situated, Atticus spoke again: "Now, tell me what you know. Tell me everything. The fact that you were unable to carry out the mission is, at this point, irrelevant. What matters now is what you were able to discover about the Reich."

"Oh, all sorts of things," replied Shade. "Most importantly… the dragons weren't even there!"

Atticus appeared stunned. "They weren't? But we were given information…"

"False information," Kay said. "The Reich planted it so that you would send us to the place. They wanted to kill us!"

"And almost succeeded," Raffi added.

Atticus turned from view, his hand at his forehead, rubbing methodically. He began to pace at the front of the room, before pausing. "Then," he said, "we'll just have to keep searching."

"Atticus," Shade stood, effectively silencing any other comments from the rest of the group, "I have a thought, if you don't mind…"

"Not at all."

"Thank you. Now, what about the place in Europe? The place where we were told that Feisley, Harrelson, and Sharp may have received their powers?"

"Yes, what about it?" asked Atticus.

"Well, what if we went there? Couldn't we stop the Reich that way? Then the other dragons would be released AND the Reich would be stopped."

Atticus shook his head. "No. I'm not sending you there."

"…why?"

"Do not question my authority!" snapped Atticus. Shade and the other seven flinched, and Shade returned to his seat. Atticus took a deep breath, calmed himself, and continued: "No. You are not ready. That is a task that shall be reserved for the more experienced dragons, once we pinpoint their location and you rescue them. I shall not have it any other way."

"I understand, sir," said Shade, his gaze downcast.

"Good. Now, was there indication of where the dragons are being held?"

"There wasn't," Ash said. "We got a message from the Sovereign, which is how we discovered that it had been a trap. He said that they were being held elsewhere… he just didn't say where."

"That's unfortunate," said Atticus sternly. "Then, I suppose, all we can do is wait until new leads appear. Until then, I shall meet with my associates and we will determine a new course of action. In the meantime, you may go about the academy, return to your dormitories and rest. I or one of my associates will contact you if you are needed. Am I clear?"

The eight teens nodded. At this, Atticus nodded to them amicably, and hurried from the room. They watched him leave and, once they knew he was completely out of sight, turned to one another, although no one knew quite what to say at first. Finally, Kay spoke: "I don't know about you all, but I definitely need some food. I'm heading over to the cafeteria."

"Sounds good to me!" Kate jumped from her seat. "I feel like I haven't eaten all day!"

Kay and Kate walked from the room, the other six in tow. It was true, they _were _hungry—not since breakfast that morning had anyone eaten, and given the particularly strenuous activities they had partaken in throughout the day, they were far overdue.

The hallways were empty—a strange sight, considering that normally, they were bustling with activity. Every so often, the group did pass another student, but it was a rare occurrence, and at no time did they recognize those whom they viewed in the hallway. In time, they moved into the cafeteria. It was open, as always, and a few students were scattered about inside. These students, who it should be noted were uncharacteristically quiet and unanimated, perked up at the entrance of the eight dragon students, the ones who had been so doted upon by the faculty of the academy and had been so highly spoken of. Each and every student had known of the situation, their mission, their destiny… they wondered now why the dragons had returned empty-handed. Word spread quickly at the academy—they knew that the mission had not been a success the moment the eight kids walked in with no additions to the crew. Had they failed? Had the "elites" of the entire academy been defeated by this inexplicable evil? If so, what did this mean for the rest of them?

Questions such as this went unasked, as it turned out, by the other students. At least for the time being. The dragons seemed tired. It would be rude to bother them.

One caught the dragon students' eyes. He was seated at a distant table, with a few friends amongst him.

Kay stepped forward, separating herself from the rest of the group. "Will!" she called exuberantly, waving her arms at the boy. Will glanced upward and, catching her gaze, grinned and stood. In moments they were locked in a tight embrace, an embrace that almost seemed to imply that they had not seen each other in a long while—even if it had only been since that morning.

"Those two are great together, I think," Ash observed. "Well, then, shall we?" She pointed to the nearest food line, which was empty. It took about two minutes before the whole group had entered and exited the line, and following this they took their seats amongst a nearby table.

"I wonder how long we'll be here," said Ash, effacing the silence that had been ever-present in the minutes since they had sat down.

"Probably until Atticus gets another lead," Kate replied thoughtfully. "Wherever that is. We could be out of here by tomorrow morning…"

The cafeteria was largely silent, save for the teens at that very table. This was much different than normal—so what, then, was wrong? Had something occurred at the academy since their departure? Or were the other students only quiet because they were in there?

A few minutes after they sat down, the group saw that Will and his friends were leaving the cafeteria. At this, Kay returned to the table, taking a seat at the end of the group. Her face was twisted in an anticipatory grin, obviously showing that she had something rather important to say.

"Guys," she said, her voice lowering to a hush, "guess what I just found out from Will."

"I dunno, but does it have anything to do with the general mood around here right now?" Shade asked.

"Oh, yeah!" replied Kay. "Definitely."

"Then let's hear it. What's up?"

"Well, you guys remember Falco, right?"

"Of course, Kay… we just saw him this morning!" Raffi said.

"It looks like we won't be seeing him anymore," continued Kay, ignoring Raffi's previous statement. "Atticus dismissed him today!"

"Dismissed?"

"Like, fired him! And none of the students know why…"

"Falco was always a weird dude, though…" Jay said. "I personally thought he had something to hide."

"I got that vibe, too," said Kate. "But I always thought his intentions were good… he seemed genuinely concerned about us before we left. Don't you remember last night and this morning?"

"Alright, alright," Shade said. "So Falco's gone. That's why everyone's acting… different?"

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Kay. "That's only part of it. Will said that the academy's been pretty much shut down since we left."

"Shut down, as in no classes?" asked Laura.

"That, and more! Apparently, LaGuardia came over the intercom and announced that not only were all classes cancelled, but all students were basically to stay in their dorms all day, except for during mealtimes. Apparently, all of Atticus' associates had this big meeting today…"

"The meeting was probably about us," James said. "They were probably planning out what to do if we were able to bring the captives back…"

"That could be, but still," said Kay, "apparently they were really adamant about keeping the students quarantined. Will said that a few kids tried to leave at one point and one of the staff—a man whom Will said he had never seen—basically appeared out of nowhere and told them to come with him. That was the last anyone saw of them. They're heading back to their dorms right now to see if they're there… and, of course, because they have to…"

"I wonder why Atticus told us that we were free to go about the academy as we pleased, then," Shade said. "We're students here, too…"

"We're different," said Ash. "Maybe we don't have to follow the same rules."

"We always have before," said Raffi thoughtfully. "Maybe Atticus didn't know about the new rules."

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Well, LaGuardia made the announcement… but that's something that Atticus usually does. Maybe he was out of the academy then…"

"…tending to Falco," James finished her sentence.

"Then d'you think we should be getting back to our dorms?" asked Laura. "I mean, I'd rather not get in trouble with the staff here… especially the "new" ones."

They agreed that this was a good idea, and thus, after finishing the last of their food, left the cafeteria and began in the direction of their dormitories. Along the way, they met no one—not a student, nor a staff member. The academy was eerily silent, the only sounds coming from their footsteps on the marble floor. This continued until they reached the hallway where their dorms were located, some few minutes later. There was a low buzz of sound coming from a few of the rooms—likely other students talking to one another as if they had nothing more to do—which, in fact, was almost entirely true. The students were just about to reach their rooms, when—

"Stop," said a voice behind them. It was a plain, almost-emotionless voice—yet it was a voice that demanded acquiescence. It frightened the eight—mostly due to the suddenness of it and how the masculine voice cut through the silence effortlessly like a knife through butter. Kay gulped in spite of herself. She remembered Will's story earlier, and how the missing students had been stopped by an unknown man, in the hallway outside their dorms…

They had stopped, but had not yet turned around. The voice spoke again: "What is your business outside your dormitories?" it asked. "The curfew was reemployed fifteen minutes ago. I believe it was made clear earlier that, once curfew is in effect, there are to be no students in the halls…"

The group turned to face their instigator, finally. It was a man, clothed in something resembling a white jumpsuit. He had dark brown hair, and possessed a rather distinct muscle definition. His eyes were hidden by a set of dark, tinted glasses that he wore firmly on his face. "Well?" he asked in annoyance. "I'm waiting."

"Sir," Shade said, stepping forward, "we were given approval to be out on the grounds by Atticus Stevenson himself. You see, we just got back from a mission, and…"

If they had been able to see the man's eyes, they surely would've lit up with the rest of his face at this. "Ahh!" he exclaimed. "Right. You're the rescue cavalry! The ones that were supposed to help the American Dragon and his "colleagues" escape."

"Yes, that's right!"

The man snorted, as if he was trying to hold something back. Finally, he said, "That didn't work out too well, from what I hear. Was it simply too much pressure, knowing that you would fail your entire race if you were unsuccessful?" He grinned. "Perhaps the trust of the opposition should not have been rested in a group of novices—children, no less!"

The man stared around at the group, hoping, it seemed, to get some sort of verbal response from them. But they said nothing—they could say nothing. Shade gazed firmly ahead at the man, while the others' eyes were downcast in shame, embarrassment, and resentment.

Finally, Shade said, "It was not our problem, sir. The captives were not there."

"Hmm," hummed the man. "Is this true? I was not informed of this…"

"You seem like the type of person that's not informed of anything," Ash said. "I doubt you've even met Atticus Stevenson before…"

The man laughed. "And still," he said, "you understand and know nothing. Truth be told, I almost pity you. Almost," he repeated.

"What do you want of us?" Raffi asked finally.

"I've already told you what I want," replied the man. "I want you in your dormitories. I was given firm orders to intercept anyone caught outside their rooms during curfew, in fact. It matters not what Atticus Stevenson has said. Right now, my word is law. Now, on with you, before I decide to have you join the other rule breakers—and believe me, you don't want me to have you join the others…"

"Yes, sir," Shade said with a hint of a grudge in his voice. He turned to the others. "Let's not upset the man, then. Our rooms it is."

But they did not all venture into their respective rooms—rather, the entire group headed into the boys' room, after Shade had made a brief, hidden motion to the door. The guard outside could not have known that the girls were not exactly assigned to this room, though—but how could he? He knew nothing about the rooms themselves, whether they were coed or how many individuals could be placed inside. So all, for that moment, was well—and now, finally, the students could talk freely of the oddities that had begun to occur around the academy since their departure earlier that morning.

This would wait, however, as first the teens—Shade, James, and Jay in particular—noticed something rather strange on their beds. Something that had not been there before…

"Guys, we didn't unpack our clothes before we left, did we?" James asked aloud, egregiously eying the piles of clothing and belongings that now sat on the boys' beds.

"Mine had been in the closet…" replied Shade. "I dunno why they'd be out…"

"Well, maybe they thought that we wouldn't be staying another night in the academy," Jay said, "so they got all of our things together so that we could pack quickly and leave when we got back. We weren't supposed to be staying, were we?"

"The plan was to stay one last night. Then we'd leave in the morning."

"Then I wonder if our belongings are like this too…" Laura said thoughtfully.

"We can't check, though," said Ash. "Our good friend is still outside, checking the hallways."

"I say we overlook this, at least for the time being," Raffi then announced. "Shade, I'm guessing you wanted us in here for a meeting?"

"Why… yeah, I did, thanks," replied Shade. "Well, then… I suppose I wanted to get you guys' thoughts on all this…"

"The place is different, that's for sure. I just can't seem to figure out why… it's like it's changed drastically in the handful of hours that we were gone!" exclaimed Kay.

"Yeah, kids getting apprehended by strange men in white, the entire staff attending these secret meetings, classes getting cancelled, curfews…" added Raffi, "it's like they planned this the second we left!"

"And Falco! We can't forget Falco!"

"This all could've been in preparation for the ninety dragons we were supposed to rescue!" Jay chimed in. "I mean, ninety additions to a place this size must be somewhat overwhelming. Perhaps the students have a curfew so that they stayed out of the way of the preparations and the meetings were called for the same purpose. Even now—maybe these meetings are designed to find out what to do next."

"You seem rather quick to side with Atticus, Jay…" Kate said shortly, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm just trying to look at this from a logical standpoint! We can't go about believing that everyone and everything is out to get us!"

"He's right," Ash said. "It's the Reich that we should be worried about! Atticus and his associates have sheltered us, trained us… they've given us an opportunity to do something great and to help save the magical world. I personally don't care what kind of actions or precautions that they take, as long as it's beneficial in the end."

"I didn't mean it in that way," said Kate. "What I really meant was…" she turned to Jay, "it's just been a bit strange. You've been a bit strange ever since we all joined up here at the academy."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Jay asked in bewilderment.

"All the times you've been called down to speak privately with Atticus, probably more than the rest of us combined. Or when we were down in the labyrinth and you didn't turn up 'til after Feisley and Harrelson had been beat…"

"I've told you!" exclaimed Jay. "I would've helped in the labyrinth, but I was—oh, I dunno—knocked out?! And Atticus called me down so many times to help me with my powers. You have no idea how hard it's been for me! It's all so new!!"

"It has been just as new for me!" Kate shot back. "You and I both found out about our powers at the exact same time. And I haven't had to get this "extra help" nearly as much!"

"Well, aren't you just the special one! But of course—everyone loves _you_—the little manic depressive, the rare little dragon that Lao Shi just _loves_ because she's got powers over the earth and these so-called healing powers. Say, Kate, have we seen any of these healing powers yet? Hm?"

Jay breathed hard, as if it was an attempt to catch his breath. When he did this, he seemed to calm down, at least slightly. Then, once more, he began to speak. "I didn't ask for this, you know…"

The dormitory's door burst open, having not been preceded by a knock or any other such warning of entrance. And in slithered a large, slender blue dragon, one that was mightily unfamiliar to the students…

"Um, hello?" Kay greeted the other dragon with uncertainty.

"I do hope I am not interrupting anything," came Lao Shi's voice. "Although if I am, whatever it is will have to wait. This is far more urgent…"

"Lao Shi?!" exclaimed James. "In your dragon form?"

"In the spirit of being clichéd, desperate times call for desperate measures," replied Lao Shi. "My wheelchair is in the hall…and," he motioned to his legs, which were strewn on the ground like a rag doll's, "while my legs may be paralyzed, the rest of my body is not, and I can still fly. I simply never possessed reason to utilize my dragon self up to now."

"Up to now?" Raffi asked. "Why 'up to now?' And how did you get past the guard outside? Aren't you supposed to be in the meeting Atticus is holding?"

"As I said, desperate measures," he averted his gaze to the doorway.

They rushed to the door, and found the guard outside, lying on the floor, apparently unconscious. "He was right outside your door," explained Lao Shi, who floated over to his wheelchair and pushed it lightly towards Ash. "Get this downstairs for me, won't you?"

"He was listening outside our door?" Laura asked. "That's encouraging…"

"You've no idea," countered Lao Shi. "In fact, I believe this whole thing to be much larger than a mere question of surveillance."

"Meaning…?"

"I will explain shortly. But now is not the best time—surely someone will notice the unconscious man in the hallway soon. Follow me into my quarters… we will discuss the current situation more thoroughly when we are there; at least then, we will have at least a few minutes of safety."

"Safety? Safety from what?" asked Kay.

"I told you, I cannot explain it now! Now, follow me!" Lao Shi darted quickly down the hallway, towards the main stairs. His room was on the second floor to their third—at the far end of the hallway. It, thus, took them a minute or two (a bit more than expected, considering that they had to carry the old man's wheelchair down the stairs) before they reached the door. There was no guard in that particular hallway at that moment, which gave them reason to rest easy, but they knew that, at any time, one could appear at the end of the hallway and spot them without any prior warning, so Lao Shi hurried them inside his room, taking good care to shut the door as quietly as possible.

The old man made his way to his wheelchair once all were inside, and he reverted back to human form thereafter, his small body dropping into its seat.

"Okay, everyone's here," said Shade. "What's going on?"

Lao Shi, at first, seemed to ignore this. Instead, he glanced over at his closet door. "Christian!" he called. "It is safe to come out."

The closet door slid open, and out stepped a man, one that seemed vaguely familiar to the group he stood before…

"Falco?" James questioned with a bemused look on his face. "But weren't you…"

"Banished? Dismissed?" spoke the man they had known as Emerson Falco. "Correct, I was. But, having been here for a few months now, I do know the many ways of getting back in—with Lao's assistance, of course."

"Now we can explain the situation at hand. I do believe that it might be in best interest for you to first introduce yourself, Christian—in all truthfulness, this time," said Lao Shi.

"As you wish. Children, my name is not Emerson Falco and I am not truly an associate of Atticus Stevenson. My name is Christian Hoffman, and I work for the WOPW—the World Organization of Powerful Wizards." (A/N: More stale cookies for the reader that can tell me which story of mine the WOPW originated in.)

"Then why are you here? Isn't the WOPW based in London?" asked Shade.

"Yes, but it is a worldwide organization… the United Nations is not made up of merely the Netherlands, is it?" Hoffman said. "See, I was hired by the WOPW two years ago for my espionage abilities. I am not only a wizard, you see, but a rather skilled one at that—and then, of course, there is my charm, my distinct ability to get almost anyone to warm up to me.

"I was hired to track Adam Smart, whom I believe you know as the Sovereign of the Reich. However, my efforts were not going too well until we discovered another organization, one quite smaller than our own, that had expressed a desire to locate the Reich as well. It was led, as it is now, by Atticus Stevenson, the head of a reclusive academy for young children with various magical abilities such as wizardry.

"We contacted the academy numerous times, in an attempt to possibly combine our forces with theirs for the search. However, we were never able to get a definitive answer—it seemed as if they wanted to do this completely alone. This came off as slightly suspicious to the WOPW. Thus, I was sent in undercover to the academy, to both monitor and assist their efforts.

"Of course, I had to change my name—for we did not know Atticus Stevenson and what he might or might not have been capable of. Truth be told, there is no record of him anywhere until only five years ago, when the academy was established—it's like he had been laying low for so many years before surfacing… odd, considering he is a wizard and wizards are usually required to register with the WOPW as wizards, except under extreme circumstances. But at any rate, the likelihood that he would run a background check on any of his employees would be high, we thought. And thus, Emerson Falco, a person with as little a past as Atticus seemed to have, was born.

"Apparently, someone had been dismissed from Atticus' "inner circle" just prior to my arrival, for I was quickly told that there was a job opening at the academy when I first visited. I was able to meet with Atticus almost immediately, and I was able to warm up to him to the best of my ability. But I got the feeling, however, that I was still not as acquainted with the man as others were. Sure, I ventured to meetings on school issues and the means by which we would bring you all to the academy. But there were other meetings, I know it—meetings behind closed doors with only Atticus, LaGuardia, Warburton, and a handful of others. And all the while, I felt as if every move I made was scrutinized by Atticus and his "inner circle"—as if they were either considering me for passage into their exclusive group or trying to find something wrong with the persona I had created.

"I was always feeding information back to the WOPW throughout this. Of course, this was done as secretly as possible, usually in my sleeping quarters at night. Aside from the slight sense I got that they were hiding something more, however, there was no indication of anything out of the ordinary while there. I got further and further in cohorts with the other associates, and I found their interest in the eight of you to be quite genuine. But I still stayed at somewhat of a distance, for I did not want to become too close with the associates—my job was strictly to assist and to gather information, not to make friends.

"I believe that this may have contributed to my dismissal. After the eight of you left this morning, there was an emergency meeting called and all classes were cancelled for the remaining students. I was about to venture into the supposed meeting place, when Atticus suddenly came out of the room I was about to enter. "Take a walk with me, Emerson," he said to me. Well, I'm not one to disobey those whom I work for, so I agreed. He took me outside, and we began to talk of various items, including the eight of you. See, I had retained a bit of uneasiness about your journey—I was fearful that there might have been an ambush and that the captive dragons were not there. Atticus insisted, however, that they were rather certain of their location—for they possessed an extremely high-tech navigational system, or so I was often told. It is supposedly located in the basement of the academy… I have glanced through a small window on the door before, and there was merely a long white hallway with doors lined on the sides. The navigational system was through one of those doors, but I was unable to ever find out where, exactly, this system was, for I was never authorized to enter that hallway, and furthermore, it was always locked, so I was unable to explore without permission even if I wanted to. At any rate, Atticus made it a point to inform me that all was going according to plan and that I need not worry.

"We walked far, much farther than I had ever gone on the property. There's a trail that goes into the woods near the back of the academy, I'm sure you've seen it. That's where we were. We ventured all the way to a small clearing—very small, in fact. There was a tall fence that separated the academy's property from the outside world, with a door built in the fence at the end of the path, a series of automated locks on it.

"I had a feeling as to what was going on, and as it turns out, I was right. "Emerson," Atticus said to me, "you do know about the background checks we make on our employees, yes?" I replied that I knew, of course, and I asked him why he brought it up. Well, Atticus went on to say that they had never let my résumé go, because they found it odd that there was no obvious evidence of my ever existing before coming to the academy.

"The hypocrite," said Hoffman, as he lit a cigarette, before continuing. "Anyways, he told me that they had finally found my match, listening to old records of phone calls from the WOPW. Why they were doing this, I can't say. But someone found that my voice was akin to that of Christian Hoffman, who had called many months prior about joining forces against the Reich. They then found my identification picture on the WOPW's website (yes, we do have a website, although it's almost impossible to be found by mere mortals), and that was it.

" "I thought I had made it clear the first time," he had said, "that we needed no help, especially from the likes of you. I do not question your willingness to help, Emerson… or, it's Christian now, isn't it? Christian, I suggest that you inform the WOPW that Atticus Stevenson prefers to work either alone or with a few of my closest associates." Atticus pointed to the door behind me soon after. "We will send your belongings to the WOPW by tonight. I bid you luck in trying to find and stop the Reich… perhaps we shall meet again in that respect, someday," he said. And that was it; he turned and walked back down the path."

"But you're here," said Shade. "You didn't leave. Why did you come back?"

"Because, Shade, it was precisely the sort of erratic behavior from Atticus that I had been looking for! It gave me reason to believe that he was possibly hiding something…"

"And that's why you came back here?" Kate asked. "Because you have this feeling about Atticus?"

"Basically. In fact, I have some personal claims myself as to what it is they're hiding… I'm just not going to reveal them yet, because I don't want to make any false accusations. I hope you'll understand."

"I understand that," said Ash. "Here's what I don't understand, though—how did you get back in the academy?"

"Oh, that's not hard at all when you've been here as long as I have," Hoffman replied. "See, I never actually left the property, first of all—I merely waited until Atticus was out of the vicinity, and then I began towards the academy, making myself invisible in the process. Now, Lao Shi was outside at the back of the academy at this point, which just happened to be my luck."

"I already knew Christian's secret," explained Lao Shi. "I knew that he had come from the WOPW and that he was on an undercover mission to gather information about Atticus. We'd met prior to this, actually… at the Stockholm episode of '85. You remember that, don't you, Christian?"

"How could I not?" grinned Hoffman. "So, anyways, I spoke to Lao slowly, so as to not startle him—disembodied voices can be rather unnerving, as I'm sure you'll concur. But I soon explained the situation, and he let me in through the window. We'd been speaking in here, when we saw that the lot of you had arrived. And that, well, basically brings us to now."

"So what now?" Kay asked.

"We have to get underground," said Hoffman sternly. "But we have to be surreptitious—we can't be spotted down there, and I'm certain that, if there are guards up on the above-ground floors, there will be more below ground. I want to say that we could use invisibility, but that many not get us into some of the rooms—some likely need fingerprint identification, and I may or may not be able to get into these rooms, if I ever was able."

"And the thing is," Lao Shi added, "we cannot send everyone. It is too risky. The rest may go out as lookouts…"

"What about getting out of here, though?" asked Shade. "Surely someone will see the knocked-out guard soon…"

And as if on cue, there came a sound from outside the door—muffled footsteps, growing exceedingly closer to their room. "Quick!" exclaimed Hoffman. "Out the window, the eight of you! Now!" He pointed his hand at the nearby window and flung it upward, the window sliding up adjacently. There was a small eave immediately outside the window, and other directly above—this could provide a quick escape. As quietly as they could, the eight rushed from the room and through the window, which was large enough to accommodate their frames without being too constrictive. One by one, they veered to the left, stepping out of view from the window. "Up here!" exclaimed Raffi, pointing to the part of the roof above the window, which was reachable if one could jump and pull oneself up and over the edge. But they would have to do so quickly.

Without a word, Hoffman nodded to Lao Shi, and ran into the nearby closet. The moment he closed the door to his hiding pace, there came a knocking at the door to the dormitory.

"Lao Shi, we know you're in there," came an unfamiliar male voice. "Open up."

"The door is unlocked," called Lao Shi in reply. "You may come in any time you'd like."

There was a short lull thereafter, followed by the turning of the doorknob. The door then swung open rather violently, and three men, much like the one that had been patrolling the hallways earlier and had been rendered unconscious, entered inside. The men seemed to have been expecting some sort of much larger opposition, and thus appeared to find Lao Shi sitting there, alone, in the middle of the room.

"May I help you, gentlemen?" Lao Shi asked politely. "You seem to be in quite a rush."

"Where are they?" the man whose voice had been heard outside the door growled, avoiding the old man's question.

"Where is who?" replied Lao Shi. "Did no one tell you that I room alone here?"

"Where are they?" the man repeated, taking one step forward. "The children!"

"We saw them come in here with you," spoke one of the other men, "after they decided to dispose of one of our other guards…"

"Whatever might you mean?" Lao Shi said. "The children merely came to my room to ask a question, and left five minutes ago. And there was no guard on the way here—quite odd, if you ask me; perhaps you should step it up a bit—so I do not know which 'other guard' you speak of."

"It was a blue dragon!" cried the third man. "And there's only nine dragons here—you and the children. And last time I checked, you're crippled—unable to fight."

Lao Shi shrugged. "Perhaps your security cameras are a bit off. But feel free to search in here if you'd like… I've nothing to hide."

From the part of the ceiling that was nearest to the window, there was a loud crack—one much louder than what might come from a setting building. This crack could've been made merely by someone or something, directly above the ceiling.

The three men's heads turned synchronically. "Mr. Shi," said the first man with an accusational tone, "why is the window open?"

"Oh, you know how it is," replied Lao Shi. "It can get rather warm during this time of year…and the fans can only do so much…"

"Really?" the man began to step slowly towards the window. "Care to explain why there was a sound coming from the spot above the window?"

"No, I cannot. It could just be the place setting…"

"Could be. But it was slightly louder than that. In fact, it sounded to me like someone's footsteps…" the man motioned his accomplices to the open window, and the first man stuck his head outside. He looked to his left and right, crinkled his nose, and then placed himself out onto the eave outside. He first stared out and beyond the academy, and then turned to the academy itself, peering up and above the window at the small spot of level roofing above it, and then at the row of windows signifying the third floor, and finally at the absolute roof at the very top of the building… with not a living thing in sight.

The man leapt from the window and, without a glance or referral to his two accomplices, stood almost directly above Lao Shi, bending over so that he was nearly eye-to-eye with the old man. "How long have they been gone?!" he growled into his face.

"I told you, they left five minutes ago, out the door, like civilized folk. If one of them happened to disable one of your guards, it is not my problem," Lao Shi replied.

"It IS your problem! You are their master!—you were the one put in charge of them!"

"True, but I cannot prevent them from wrongdoing at every moment of the day—granted that, of course, any of the children actually did partake in the action you accuse them of…"

The man threw himself away from Lao Shi, straightening to his full frame. "This is inconceivable!" he cried as he paced about the room. "You know something. Either you assaulted our guard or someone you know committed the very same offense."

"I never ruled that out. I merely stated that I did not know of such a thing happening until the three of you blatantly barged in here and demanded, more or less, a confession. Now, PLEASE leave, before I am forced to contact Atticus…"

"Mr. Stevenson is in a meeting; he can't save you right now," sneered the second man. "It makes me wonder why you are so eager to have us leave…"

"Yeah, it's as if you still have something to hide…" said the third.

"Then it's settled, gentlemen?" the first man spoke. "Shall we search the premises, then?"

Lao Shi had no chance to protest or to evade the men, for at these words they sprang into action, rummaging through whatever they thought could quarter any small piece of evidence.

"You've no idea what you're doing," Lao Shi said. "I implore you, it is in your best interest to stop now."

They did not seem to hear him. Rather, they continued to search—looking under the bed, in drawers…

"I repeat, it is in your best interest…"

"Our best interest?" chuckled the second man as he threw open the closet door carelessly. "Says who… you?!"

"Him… and me."

The man glimpsed into the closet, just in time to see Christian Hoffman leap out at him, the previously-hidden wizard grabbing him around the waist and spearing him to the ground.

"Falco!" exclaimed the first man in surprise. Then, his expression hardening, he reached up his sleeve and drew a pistol…

Hoffman, who had been atop the second man and was pinning his arms to the ground, glared up at the man malevolently, before smiling eerily. He lifted his right hand from his captive's arm, and snapped his fingers together. All three men (most notably the two that had been standing up) slumped to the ground on cue, as if they were rag dolls.

Lao Shi stared around at the men, who were not moving. "…that was quite non-climactic," he noted. "Surely you didn't kill them… did you?"

"Of course not," replied Hoffman, as he struggled to his feet, "although I could've if I wanted to. It was a mere stunning spell; knocks them unconscious for a couple of minutes. It's a handy thing to know how to do, but damn, if it doesn't wear me out!" Hoffman, upon getting on his feet completely, felt his knees buckle beneath him, and hence he slumped to the ground, holding his arms out in front of him to prop himself up.

"Are you okay?" asked Lao Shi with concern, wheeling over to Hoffman's figure. "You don't look well…"

"I'll be fine," Hoffman replied. "I merely need a few moments of rest, nothing more." He stared off towards the still-open window. "The real question is: are the children okay? The entire academy'll be on the lookout for them now…"

"I think they'll be fine; they've been trained well. We need to get downstairs—I have a feeling that, no matter what, we'll be needed down there eventually."

(end)

"We should go back," said Kate quickly, her clawed hands covering her head in frustration. "What if they need our help?"

Now in their dragon forms, the eight kids were idle on the opposite side of the building, still on the roof—out of sight of anyone, unless one was to spot them from the enclosed, grassy backyard of the academy. It had been a close call, their escape—knowing that the possibility of the aggressors inside the building looking out the window and finding them was present, Shade made a quick decision to go into their dragon forms and retreat to the other side of the roof, where they could have at least a few moments to regroup and to plan their next course of action, which had not yet happened. Instead, a few of the group's members were relatively adamant about returning to Lao Shi's room, to fight if needed.

"Whoever it is that entered the room, they're going up against a wizard trained in espionage and one of the most powerful dragons in the world. I think they'll be fine on their own—they can meet up with us later," Raffi said.

"Then what should we do now?"

"We need to get back inside the academy," announced Shade. "There's definitely something going on in there… we need to go down and find Atticus."

"If that's what we're gonna do, let's do it quick," James said. "Listen!"

There was an alarm sounding, one that, while it seemed to be coming mostly from the interior of the building, was also blaring outside as well. "Not good!" Ash yelled. "They're going into lockdown; no one will be able to get in or out. We need to get back in—now!"

Shade leapt from the roof, the other seven in tow. The alarm's sharp sound seared through their minds all the while, providing an imposing distraction as they soared down the side of the building and to the back entrance of the academy. The rain had cease since the previous time they had been outside, and the short grass in the backyard was wet with the remnants of that rain. They touched down and, taking care to avoid slipping, dashed to the doors leading inside the academy.

"Look!" exclaimed Kay, pointing at the nearby windows. There were giant steel barriers lowering over the windows—and, as it appeared, the same was happening to the doors that stood before them. They did not have much time, maybe seconds.

Shade threw open the doors, making the entrance as wide as realistically possible. "Get inside!" he ordered, propping himself against one door to keep it open. Jay rushed to the other door to keep it from closing, and the rest of the group rushed inside and into the living room-esque area that the doors emptied into.

The alarm continued to sound loudly. Jay and Shade closed the doors behind them and rejoined the other six. Just as before, the interior of the academy was consistently silent—and, additionally, someone had opted to shut of all the lights in that particular section of the first floor, the only light coming from quite far down the hall, where the cafeteria was.

"Atticus would be downstairs," said Ash, "wouldn't he? What do you think?"

"Well, it _is _the staff-only area," Raffi replied. "And his office is down there. Perhaps this meeting he's tied up in is down there as well."

"So we'll all head down there?"

"Wait!" exclaimed Shade. "No, we can't do that."

"Why not," James asked.

"It's too risky and too noticeable if all of us went down there. There are probably guards there and more coming up here. Someone'll need to fend off the ones approaching from up here, while the others head downstairs."

"Who'll go down, then?"

"Kate," Shade said," you're pretty good at unlocking doors. You'll definitely need to go down there, in case if anything needs unlocking."

"Agreed. Shall I go alone?" Kate asked.

"No. Ash will go with you."

"And miss all the fun up here?!" protested Ash.

"Like I said, there'll probably be some guards downstairs. While you're a very strong dragon and no one can dispute that, you haven't been training with the rest of us as long—you missed a few weeks, remember? We need a formidable dragon to go down with Kate so that she can work on what she needs to work on."

"Fine. Is that all?"

"For now," replied Shade. "But if we are fine up here and haven't heard back from you, we'll send down Laura."

"Got it," Laura nodded.

"Good. The rest of us," he turned to Raffi, Kay, James, and Jay, "will keep watch up here. Any questions?"

"None," replied the others.

"Then let's go."

Kate and Ash began toward the other side of the room, where there was a door that led downstairs—evidenced by the 'staff-only' notice that had been placed on it. In addition, this was the place from which Jay had come earlier on in their stay at the academy, when he had been meeting with Atticus. The two girls shifted into human form, so as to navigate the basement area easier. Of course, they did not know what the downstairs area was like, and this they would need to be as surreptitious as possible—two dragons, after all, would be far easier to spot than two humans.

But before they could so much as touch the doorknob, the door burst open. Ash and Kate darted to the left and into the shadows of the dark hallway. The six remaining dragons perked up and turned wildly to face who—or what—had come through the door.

"Children!" came Warburton's voice as a group of people stepped into view. "Stay where you are." One of the lights from above flickered on, although Ash and Kate's hiding spot was still concealed.

"What are you doing outside your dormitories?" Kennel asked loudly, emerging from behind Warburton. Smith and Green soon appeared as well… followed, finally, by LaGuardia, her arms folded and her gaze menacing as always.

"We need to talk to Atticus," Shade replied, but daring not to move a muscle. "Where is he?"

Ignoring his question, Smith said, "You need to talk to Atticus, eh? And you decided to take out anyone in your path in order to do so, is that it?"

"I—"

"Don't even act like you've no clue as to what we're talking about," Green said in a dense Irish accent that, truthfully, had never been as distinct as it was then. "We en't stupid, y'know!"

"So, what do you have to say for yourselves?" boomed Warburton.

"We don't know what you're talking about!" Kay exclaimed. "We just got back, and we had to talk to Atticus! Something weird is—"

"LIES," LaGuardia cried, stepping out from behind the other associates. "Acrid, despicable lies! You have not only assaulted an official, but you have, wholly, assaulted the entire academy and all that it stands for!"

"And what's more, two additional guards—guards with perfectly passive intentions, I might add—were knocked unconscious while searching for you!" Warburton said. "This does not happen by accident, nor by mere coincidence."

"Well, if you didn't have all those creepy men following us around, perhaps everything'd be a bit more civil," James said.

"So you admit it?"

"We admit nothing," growled Shade. "I think that James merely was commenting on the nature of the situation…"

"Then how do you explain THREE ASSAULTED GUARDS?"

"Do you truly expect us to believe that that old cripple Lao Shi did this?!" exclaimed Smith.

"Lao Shi is not a man to be underestimated," came a new voice. Atticus' associates, all five of them, spun to their left, searching erratically in the dark for the voice, one that seemed all too familiar…

From their concealed hiding place in the shadows of the hallway to the associates' right, Kate and Ash, too, squinted to find some figure that the voice belonged to. "Kate," whispered Ash, "it totally sound like—"

"Shh!" Kate shot back, attempting to keep as silent as possible so that their spot would not be revealed—a daunting task, but it would need to be done.

A metal object rolled into view, glinting in the newfound moonlight that had begun to seep into the academy and light the room, which had previously been lit merely by that dimmed light above them. It was a wheelchair—Lao Shi's wheelchair. And there, sitting upon it, was Lao Shi himself.

But he was not alone, as the voice spoke again. "Hello, my friends," it said as the body possessing it came into view as well. "Surprised to see me?"

"Falco!" Green exclaimed. "But you're here…"

"It's Hoffman, my friend, Christian Hoffman. And yes, I am here—it's not all that hard to get in, after all. I'd suggest far more security…"

"So it's you," snarled LaGuardia acrimoniously. "You're behind this, are you?"

"It is partially so, I must admit," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Of course, Lao here was of some help as well…"

"Not bad for an old cripple, eh?" Lao Shi added, directing this particularly at Smith.

"I'd expect this from you, Christian, is it?" LaGuardia said. "But Lao Shi—after all, we've done for you, this is how you repay us?!"

"Your guards are corrupt."

"And as I'm thinking, so are you," Hoffman said.

"Corrupt?" a new figure had emerged from the doorway. "Why, you don't know the half of it."

Atticus Stevenson walked briskly to stand beside LaGuardia, his finger wagging in protest at Hoffman and Lao Shi. "I must say, though, you are quite clever—I'd have expected no one to come back to the academy after being banished." His gaze narrowed. "Why did you come back, Christian?"

"Unfinished business," Hoffman shot back, maintaining perfect eye contact with the man. "I'm sure you understand."

"I might," Atticus turned from them to the dragons. "And you! Welcome, welcome… I'm sorry you've had to witness this… I will be honest, I did not think it was you attacking our guards, but… one cannot be too careful, eh?"

"Sir," Shade said, "that's what we wanted to speak with you about. The guards are acting strange… everyone is, actually. We want answers, sir."

"Answers?" Atticus asked, seemingly surprised. "There are no answers that you do not already know already. Is it not obvious?—Christian here, upset with his banishment, wanted to create a certain havoc here at the academy as an act of revenge—and, as it seems, he's tried to corrupt your minds into thinking that what he was said is true. Sadly, the wise Lao Shi has even fallen victim to this hoax, this fabrication…"

"Then hat about the lockdown on the place?" asked Raffi. "And the curfew?"

"My dear, meetings concerning the future of the magical world have been occurring all day here. As such, we wished to have no outside distractions to said meetings, and thus the remaining students were directed to steer clear of becoming distractions."

"Don't listen to him!" Hoffman addressed the students. "He's not who you think he is!"

"Christian, Christian… first accusations that my intentions are not what I claim, and now—I myself am not who I say I am? You've quite an accusational mind…"

"I've figured it out. I hadn't at first, and it took me a while, but now it all makes sense. You, sir, are not Atticus Stevenson."

"I AM Atticus Stevenson!"

"No, you're not. In fact, a man such named never even existed!"

"This is preposterous—"

"As I said before, children," said Hoffman, "there was no record of an Atticus Stevenson on the face of this earth until a few years ago. First peculiar thing there. Secondly, he sends the eight of you to a place where an absolute ambush is waiting!

"Now, the final act. Those goons that were sent up to find the children—quite incompetent fellows, if you ask me. I noticed, however, that… well, you know about those disgusting white jumpsuits they wear. I decided to search inside one—for maybe some sort of identification card, in case there are rooms inside the academy that only those with such cards could reach. In doing this, this is what I found—"

Hoffman tuned back the way they had came. With a swift motion of his hand, three figures appeared in the dark of the hallway. They emerged from the darkness, revealing themselves to be the three guards that had barged into Lao Shi's room. They appeared to be in some sort of a trance.

"If you would," spoke Hoffman, "kindly remove your jumpsuits."

The three men, without hesitation, did so obediently. They grabbed at small, hidden zippers that were at their necks and began to pull their outer clothing downwards. While this at first seemed a bit strange to most in the room, soon they began to understand the gravity of the situation. "Tell me, Shade," Hoffman said when the three men appeared to have finished removing their jumpsuits, "what do you see? Anything a bit… unordinary, esoteric?"

"I… dunno. I can't really see them that well…"

"Gentlemen, might you step a bit closer, more into the light?"

The three men took five steps forward, until they were as illuminated as all others in the room, save for the two still hidden nearby.

"Now, Shade?"

"They're… wearing robes… white ones…" whispered Shade. He turned to Atticus, who had said nothing, but merely glared at him. "They're…you're…"

"The Reich?" the corners of Atticus' mouth twitched upwards. "Why… yes, it would appear so, wouldn't it?"

"It was YOU?!" yelled James. "All along?"

Atticus said nothing, but instead turned to his associates, a look of annoyance spread across his face. LaGuardia met this look with an apathetic shrug, staring coldly into his eyes. "It appears…" said Atticus. "That the game has… changed."

He put a dense stress on the final word, and clapped his hands together. At this, the lights flashed off and the room was shrouded in darkness. This, however, occurred for only a few moments, as then the light returned to the room.

It had at first appeared as if there were new figures inside the room completely—at least, in the place of Atticus and his associates. But this was merely a mirage that had been imposed by the shock of seeing something quite different in such a short period of time. It was still Atticus, still LaGuardia, Warburton and all the associates. However, akin to the three guards, they now donned long white robes, the hoods of which hung deftly at their necks.

"You bastards!" Laura exclaimed. "We trusted you!"

"Trust is quite a delicate emotion… as such, it can be manipulated easily. You, children, have embodied just that." Atticus began to pace slowly, his gaze not leaving the students nor Hoffman and Lao Shi, who had joined them in standing opposite of him. "I expect that you'd like an explanation. We've a good amount of time, after all… will you be willing to listen both closely and amiably?"

"Can you honestly expect us to listen to you? After you've tried to kill us?" Shade said.

"Given your current situation, I think that he can," another figure, white-robed, had emerged from the doorway, the hood pulled over his head. Ash and Kate retreated further into the darkness of the hallway.

"I'd know that voice anywhere," snarled James. "It's Feisley."

Marcus Feisley removed the hood from his head, revealing a glistening smile. "We meet again, my friends," he spoke, staring around at the six dragons. At this, his expression turned downward. "Are there not eight of you? Where are the other two?"

"…up in their dorms; they didn't come with us," Kay said.

Feisley shifted his gaze over to the three guards, who were still standing at attention, in the mesmerizing trance that Hoffman had put them in. "Mind-controlling, I see." He concentrated hard, still staring ahead at the three. "Not a very strong trance, though. Quite breakable." He waved his arm towards them with a quick motion, and in response the three men blinked, and bemusedly glanced at their surroundings. "Guards," Feisley spoke again, "apparently there are two students that need to be located in the academy. You will find them, if I am not mistaken, in rooms 203A and 204A. Am I clear?"

The three guards nodded slowly, as if they were still in a daze after their long period of stupor. They turned to leave, but not before glancing evanescently at Hoffman and Lao Shi, at whom one grinned and ran his finger across his neck in a rather suggestive notion.

"Now," Feisley turned back to Atticus and bowed low. "Proceed, my lord."

"Children," announced Atticus vociferously, "let me begin by noting that, as you have undoubtedly noticed, things are not always as they seem. My name is, obviously, not Atticus Stevenson. Atticus Stevenson was borne from my true name, a name that you have indubitably heard before—Adam Smart."

"I figured," Hoffman growled. "It's been so long since you went underground… no wonder I did not recognize you."

"Yes, how unfortunate. But at any rate, when the Reich was established, so was this academy and the persona of Atticus Stevenson. From there, we began a rather rigorous journey, with the goal of, of course, wiping out the entire magical race.

"Now, here is why the academy was established: I merely wanted to weed out those who are not of pure magical blood, as myself, so that I could build new, young armies to combat the opposition. In addition, however, I brought other young people—such as yourself—to aid my cause. We could train you, manipulate you… until the only truth in your eyes was our own truth. And then, of course, you would be disposed of. We were unfortunately unable to do so with neither the dragons nor the others here at the academy.

"I will be honest, though, our intent for bringing you here was to have you killed at the warehouse—that would strike even more fear into the WOPW and the Magical World if they knew that you had died while trying to rescue the captive dragons. It unfortunately did not work that way, as you can tell. We brought Lao Shi in as well, so that it did not look like we were sending you all in unprepared.

"I think everything else is rather self-explanatory. Yes, the warehouse was an ambush and yes, we knew about it. Yes, we are holding the other dragons captive still. Of course I will not say where—what is the fun in that, eh? And yes, what we told you about the Reich is true—not that it will be too beneficial to your lot."

"My lord," Feisley said, "isn't that enough? We should finish the job, before the other students get word…"

"Marcus, the academy is done-for; they can find out if they so desire. They'll be dead quite shortly anyway… once our job here is done."

"So that's it?" asked James. "You're just going to kill us?"

"That's certainly the general consensus, I do believe."

"Not if I can help it."

James leapt into the air, flying quickly at the Sovereign. The man quickly stepped to the side, and the black dragon soared past him, making a quick u-turn so as to avoid the wall.

Ash clutched Kate's hand and sprang forward before her companion could protest. In seconds, they were at the door to the basement, and rushed inside without hesitation. "Ash, what are you doing?!" whispered Kate hastily. "They need help…"

"This is our job," shot back Ash. "Besides, I have an idea."

"An idea?!"

"Yes, an idea. It stems off of a conversation I overheard a few weeks ago between Kennel and Smith. I think I understand it now, just trust me on this." And together they descended the narrow stairs, into a place they did not know…

"Coward!" James exclaimed back upstairs. "Why won't you fight me?"

"It would be a waste of my time," replied the Sovereign apathetically.

James felt a numbing blow at the side of his head, sending him sprawling onto the floor. "My associates, on the other hand…" he heard the Sovereign say as James looked up at Warburton, who was staring down at him vindictively.

"James!" exclaimed Kay, looking fearfully at his grounded frame. She turned to the others. "We have to fight!"

"You're right," Shade said. "Today we either save the Magical World… or die trying. Let's go, everyone."

The other five dragons sprang into action, rocketing towards the robed Reich members. And the battle was on.

LaGuardia leapt backwards from Raffi's approaching figure. "Oh no, you don't!" she exclaimed, having nearly been caught off guard. She quickly produced a sort of force-field, one that Raffi slammed into almost immediately. She fell to the ground, but retaliated quickly, sending a steady stream of fire back at the force-field, which seemed to shatter upon impact. Seeing this as her utmost chance to inflict some sort of imposing blow, Raffi landed a rapid blow against LaGuardia's stomach, causing the woman to double over in pain.

James continued at Warburton, but the large man was having none of it. James would try to barge into Warburton, attempting to knock him to the ground, but Warburton deflected each and every attack effortlessly. Truly it was going to take more than just brawn. At that moment, however, James was having difficulty realizing it.

Shade and Kay were tangled up (literally) in Kennel, Smith, and Green. The duo had gone after the three Reich members, who appeared to have been either trying to escape or trying to alert more guards (this was the likelihood), and now had their hands full with the three wizards, who were noticeably not as formidable as the others but were still quite daunting. "Incoming!" yelled Hoffman, dashing in from the side and sending a repelling spell at the trio, forcing them in many different directions. "Let's make it a fair fight, shall we?"

As Laura watched all this unfold, she stared straight ahead to find that the Sovereign was watching all of this almost jadedly, certainly not paying attention to her. "This might be my shot," she whispered to herself. She sped towards the Sovereign's oblivious figure, and it seemed as if he might not ever see her…

But suddenly, Laura was knocked to the side by a force that had been invisible to her before that point in time. Confused, she stared up and around, trying to find her attacker.

And there, over her, stood an orange dragon. Jay.

"Jay, what are you—?"

Jay grinned as his features seemed to melt from his face, revealing his known human form. But then, as an even more sinister grin spread across his face, his features changed again… he seemed to grow older, stronger…

Laura was soon staring into the face of Kenneth Harrelson.

"NO!"

Harrelson seemed as if he was about to strike, his arms raised menacingly… but was knocked aback by a remnant blast of fire that had come from James. Laura dashed to her feet, still in extreme shock from what she had just witnessed. "Surprised?" Harrelson asked as he steadied himself again. "I'm sure you are…"

"Wh-what did you do to Jay?"

"Jay never existed, my dear. It was me, all along… studying the seven of you, pretending to be one of you! And hell, you all bought it! Especially you!"

"So you mean—"

"…that you were fooled by the Reich once more?! Yes, you certainly were."

"No," stuttered Laura. She looked into Harrelson's eyes, "You mean I made out with an old man?"

She stood, straightening to her full height. "This isn't gonna feel good," she said calmly. And, quickly, she sent a bolt of lightning at his chest, sending him sprawling backwards, onto the ground.

Shade and Kay met up in the air, near the ceiling, surveying the scene before them. They only had mere seconds to talk, but it would have to do. "Shade, we can't beat them," Kay said quickly. "They're too powerful… we need reinforcements, pronto."

Shade dodged a spell that soared past his head. "I know, but who?" he asked.

"Well, I… WILL!"

Shade spun around, finding Will standing and waving at them enthusiastically. Behind him stood about forty other students… and the group was growing by the second.

"Well, this sure is perfect timing," Shade grinned. "Hey, Reich! Don't look now, but it looks like the cavalry is here!"

The Sovereign's eyes widened upon his viewing of the group, which seemed to include just about, if not all of the students in the school. Most of them were glaring at him angrily. It was apparent that word had spread quickly.

Laura, James, and Raffi joined the other two in the air, watching as Will led the group towards the robed figures, who had stopped what they were doing to stare at the humongous crowd now before them. An additional group began to approach from the back, towards the cafeteria. They all had the same angry stares.

"My lord!" Feisley exclaimed. "Orders, sir?"

The Sovereign grinned. "I must admit," he said, addressing the crowd before him, "this is quite a gathering. It is obvious that we are outnumbered."

He turned upwards to the airborne dragons. "It would appear as if your dying day has been postponed. No matter—it shall come soon. I congratulate you all, though—you are becoming a force that we were not originally expecting to become so imposing. We shall spare you all a bit longer… but rest assured, this is not the last time that you will see us." He nodded to the other robed figures and, with a snap of his fingers, vanished into thin air, the others following.

"…are they really gone?" asked Raffi.

"I think so!" Kay said. "We did it!!"

The crowd cheered joyfully. The five dragons returned to the floor and reverted back to human form. Kay rushed into Will's arms, and the others assembled near Hoffman and Lao Shi.

"Children, this was not a victory," Lao Shi said as they neared him. "I hope you understand this."

"It certainly was to me," Laura replied. "I mean, they're not here and we are, right?"

"I suppose so."

"I'm confused, though," Hoffman said. "Where has Jay gone?"

"Oh…" Laura said, her eyes downcast. "I… don't want to talk about it."

"Was he Harrelson?"

"How did you…"

"Once again, it was a feeling."

"Whatever, I'll talk about it later. The important thing is that we pretty much scared the Reich off…"

"I'm sorry, but it was merely a reprieve. They will be back," Hoffman said. "You can count on it."

"We can just find them, can't we?" asked Shade. "Or…"

Raffi gasped. "The fountain. We could find the fountain. The source of their power."

"Yes!" exclaimed Hoffman. "It will be tough to locate, but it is our only hope now. You can be sure, however, that it'll be heavily guarded."

"Then just let them try to stop us," Shade grinned. "With the seven of us, plus the other students, there's nothing we can't do."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Lao Shi said with a smile, the first smile that had formed at his face for a while. It was a smile of hope; hope for the magical race and for those that were inside the academy. And for once, it seemed as if they had a fighting chance against the Reich. But as said before, only time would tell.

(end)

"D'you think it's this door?" Kate asked Ash, glancing at the tall white door that was to the left of them once they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, I'm almost positive," Ash replied, placing her hands on the doorknob and pulling it open. Surprisingly, it was unlocked.

They stepped inside, not even caring to close the door behind them. They had come into a long hallway, white-walled and dimly lit, with many, many doors lining its sides.

Ash went to the first door, the one closest to them. She cast a sideward glance at Kate, grinned, and heaved the door open. It was pitch-black inside, but there was noticeably some sort of movement inside when the door was opened.

"Hello?" Ash asked uneasily into the darkness. "Is anyone in here?"

"Who… who's there?" spoke a teenage boy's voice. "Who are you?"

"I'm… Ash," she said, beaming. "Who's this?"

"Jake… Jake Long. The American Dragon."

END PART TWO

I apologize in advance for the last fourth of the chapter. Certainly not my best work in the slightest.


	13. Chapter 13

**Well, summer's over. Might as well give this fic a good look again.**

**Be forewarned, I only had an idea of what I was going to do with the story prior to this chapter; I really don't know what I'm going to do now. I do know, however, that this part, the 'third part,' should not contain six chapters, as the first two parts did. **

**I guess we'll have to see!!**

**I do thank all who reviewed the chapter before this, though. I did not expect to get such a response, mostly because of 1) the length of the chapter, and 2) because of the fact that this is a chapter utilizing other persons' characters, so I would not expect anyone who does not have characters in the story to review. But many of you proved me wrong, and I am not complaining in the slightest!**

**So finally, we should see a few more familiar characters here. It's the beginning of the end, everyone. Hope you'll be along for the ride with me.**

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 3: The Mystic Fountain

Chapter 1: On the Run

The walls inside the Stevenson Academy of Excellence shook violently, picture frames dropping off of the nails that had held them. Students threw themselves to the floor, hands over their head, as ceiling fragments rained down upon them. One might have, at first, thought there to be an earthquake… the only problem was that they were in Pennsylvania, not notorious for its earthquakes. No, this was something different.

The rumbling lasted but a few seconds, but it was not by any means peaceful. Immediately, the collective attention of the students was shifted to the many windows of the academy.

Kate's cell phone began to ring almost instantly. Not even bothering to check the caller ID, she flipped it open and spoke: "What? Who is this?!"

"Kate, it's Laura. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Why—"

"Look outside, now."

Kate's eyes widened, her mouth agape. She turned quickly to her companion, Jake Long, who returned a blank, unknowing stare. Beyond them, Ash, who had previously been speaking to another group of students, stared at her expectantly.

She rushed to the nearest window, flinging her hands onto the windowsill, squinting so as to see who—or what—was outside better. All others in that particular hallway, it seemed, followed suit.

Outside, on the front lawn, were hundreds of dragons, trolls, giants, and other various other magical creatures. Leading the group was the remaining members of the Dragon Council, Councilors Andam and Omina, plus a few other older dragons that the students perceived to be the newer inductees into the Dragon Council.

"Students of the Stevenson Academy of Excellence!" boomed Andam's voice across the grounds, magnified nearly a hundred times as if being spoken through an incredibly strong megaphone. "This is your only warning. Please vacate the premises. If you do so, you will find that we are merciful. But do not test us, if you wish to survive the night!"

Kate whirled around to face Jake. "What are they talking about?!"

"I—I don't know," the American Dragon responded bemusedly.

"Guys!" Ash came running up to them. "You gotta see this."

"What is it, Ash?" asked Kate.

"I repeat, this is your only warning! All inside are under arrest—" roared Andam.

Ash pointed a finger at the window. "Check out who's standing behind Andam and Omina."

Their gazes returned to the attacking mass. There, standing behind the front group of dragons, was none other than Adam Sharp, a.k.a. Atticus Stevenson.

Andam finished his sentence: "—for aiding and conniving with the Reich!"

FLASHBACK

Shade's voice was barely distinguishable over the roar of the crowd inside the packed auditorium. The seven remaining dragons of Master Shi's Soldiers had gathered together every student in the academy and had diverted them into the largest room they could find, one that could contain not only the students, but a few 'guests' as well.

Seated in the front few rows of the room were the ninety dragons that had been discovered in the basement of the academy—Jake Long seated in the very middle, in the front row. Around him, the other dragons were talking quickly, as if happy to see each other again. Beyond them were the other students of the academy, from whom most of the noise was coming from—it was not every day, after all, that one finds that one's school is run by a group of people trying to kill them. They certainly had a lot to talk about.

Kay dashed up to Shade with a microphone in her hand. "Sorry, it was really hard to find," she sighed, handing the device to him. "Good luck!"

Before Shade had a chance to respond with his thanks, Kay ran to join the other six of their group, along with Lao Shi and Christian Hoffman. James flashed a quick thumbs-up, and a few of the others gave fleeting nods of extolment, Raffi giving him a radiant grin in addition. Shade smiled back, took a deep breath, and turned to the imposing, raucous crowd that was seated before him.

"Everyone listen up!" Shade shouted into the microphone, and with this, the painful sound of feedback reverberated through the room. The crowd's shrill conversing swiftly became near-screams of anguish as they held their ears.

"Sorry," said Shade, much more quiet than before. "Okay, so you're probably wondering why we brought you all in here…."

At this, a boy towards the back of the room stood up and shouted, "What's going on? Where's Atticus? What did you guys do to him?!"

The crowd responded loudly, some murmuring in agreement, others shouting certain words back at the boy. The sound of a gunshot shot through the room, effectively silencing everyone once more.

Christian Hoffman had stood, his hand raised, and strangely enough, there were the faintest traces of smoke emitting from his fingers. He nodded curtly to Shade, and took his seat.

Shade gulped. "Look… I know that many of you want answers, but you're going to have to remain calm. All of us up here can tell you everything that we know has happened… but you have to understand, we don't know everything."

"But we do know this: Atticus Stevenson was going to kill us all!" yelled Ash. "Each and every one of us!"

A slow murmur had resurfaced from the crowd, but for fear of Hoffman silencing them again, it was kept to a minimum. "Why did he bring us here, then?" a girl asked.

"It's hard to say," Shade said. "Honestly, I think that he wanted us here so that, when the time came to kill us, they had us all here together. It would be far easier to kill a group of people when they are together rather than when they are spread out."

"But why would he want to _kill_ us?"

"Because this whole faculty is actually part of the Reich!"

There came a collective roar once more from the entire group. It was evident that they had heard about the Reich; perhaps they had been told about them just as Atticus—rather, Adam— had told the dragons.

"Atticus Stevenson's real name is Adam Sharp," continued Shade, not waiting for the crowd to silence themselves. "Adam Sharp is also known as the Sovereign, who is, as we all know, the leader of the Reich. The entire staff of the school was part of the Reich as well—and there are even some guys 

out there who were not part of the faculty, but are still extremely dangerous. We know—we met them."

Another boy raised his hand. "So did you guys really succeed in saving the dragons, though? Why would they send you to a place to save them?"

"They weren't there," said Shade. "We were sent there so that we could be finished off by the Reich. Luckily, we were obviously able to evade them. Once we got back, Ash and Kate were able to find the dragons… in the basement of the academy!"

"We were able to chase off the Reich, but they could return at any minute," he continued. "That's why we are going to have to leave here soon."

"Where will we go?" asked a few people.

"I… don't know. I wish I did, but I don't… but I do know that we can't stay here."

"Are we gonna fight them?" another asked.

"Eventually, yes," sighed Shade. "We're gonna have to… or at least, we're gonna have to find someone who can. Jake Long mentioned contacting the Dragon Council. Jake… mind coming up here?"

Jake rose from his seat and leapt up to center stage, taking the microphone from Shade. "Here's the deal, guys," he said. "These guys used us, abused us, and imprisoned us for a few months! Until today, none of us had seen the light of day for ages. I hadn't seen any of my friends or family until just today. The point is," he continued, "these guys have wronged us, and it's time for them to pay. The problem is, I don't know if we can beat them alone… that's why I'm going to try to get the help of the Dragon Council."

"We could get the WOPW involved as well, right?" shouted Will.

"We definitely should. Strength in numbers, guys. If we get them on our side, we'll be unstoppable."

"Don't mean to interrupt, Jake," said Fred Nerk as he stood. "But I've been askin' around the others, and since you seem to be our little leader of sorts, I was just wonderin': d'you have the tiny scars on your arm as well?"

The dragons muttered in sync, some holding up their own arms, showing the part under the elbow joint. There were tiny holes dotted amongst that part of their arms.

"I do," Jake replied. "I think we all do."

Suddenly, Laura leapt up. "I remember! It was in the vision I saw at the labyrinth… they were _experimenting _on you!"

"Yes, they were," Fred nodded. "I just wonder what for."

"It'll mean something, I'm sure," Jake said. "I don't think the Reich would simply experiment on us and have no reasoning behind it… the problem is, I don't have any idea as to what they might've been trying to do."

Jake turned back to Shade. "Anything else you'd like to say?"

Shade nodded, taking the microphone back from Jake, who leapt once more from the stage and returned to his seat. "Alright, guys, this is it. We've gotta get out of here, and soon. I say tomorrow morning at the latest… and then, once we're out… well, Jake, you can contact the Council, right?"

"I'll do it tonight," he replied. "I'm sure they'll be more than happy to hear from us…"

"Then that's it," Shade clasped his hands together. "Thank you all for your time. If you have any more questions, feel free to talk to one us up here."

He gave a quick wave, and then walked briskly back to his accomplices. "How'd I do?" he asked breathlessly.

"Good!" Raffi smiled. "A little vague, but hopefully they'll leave us alone now."

"In the meantime," James said, "we should probably figure out where the dragons are gonna stay tonight, if we're not leaving 'til morning."

"Yeah, good idea… I'll get Jake and talk to him about it," Kate smiled. She jumped down from the stage and headed over to the American Dragon.

"Is it just me," said Kay as she watched the two, "or is she really into him?"

"Oh, she completely is," replied Ash. "I've noticed since we were able to find him in the basement… she hadn't left his side until just recently."

"Man, he's way out of her league," said Laura. "I might have to have a talk with her later about that." She straightened up. "I guess I'll see you guys later?"

"Yeah," said Raffi. "I think we could all use a break from all this…"

END FLASHBACK

"They got to the Dragon Council!" shouted Ash. "Sharp got inside their heads. Dammit!"

Kate stared, trembling, out of the window. "There's hundreds of them!" she cried, turning to Jake. "What should we do?"

"I… I…" stuttered Jake. "…don't know…"

Kate suddenly seemed to remember that she was on the phone with Laura, and flung her cell phone to her ear. "Laura, still there?!"

"Yeah, I am. Master Shi's with me now… tell everyone you can to assemble by the entrance, okay?"

"Why the entrance? We're not going out there, are we? …hello?!"

Laura had ended the call. Growling, Kate turned to Jake, who seemed to have been listening intently to their conversation. "Tell everyone you can—get to the entrance hall." She repeated this message to Ash, and then took off through the halls, yelling instructions as she went.

Laura, Master Shi, James, and about a hundred other students and dragons were already by the entrance. For the sake of being able to hear instructions and directions, however, many were uncharacteristically quiet, instead making fleeting glances out the windows, at the ever-waiting Dragon Council. Laura had called everyone she could, and slowly but surely, all were finding their way into the large room. Raffi and Shade were the final ones to arrive.

"What are we gonna do, guys?" Kay asked quickly. "I don't get it, what's happened?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Hoffman. "Sharp was able to get to the Dragon Council before we could. Somehow made them believe that you children are to blame for everything, that you've taken the side of the Reich."

"Do they know that the dragons are in here?"

"The Reich would not omit that detail, trust me," Hoffman replied. "More than likely, he's convinced them that you all are under a mind control spell of some sort… Sharp always liked the idea of mind control."

"Should someone go out and explain it to them, then?" Shade asked.

"I am afraid," said Lao Shi, "that the Council shall not listen to reason. I do not know of these new Council members, and they may, on instinct, decide to attack as soon as someone exits the academy."

The building shook violently once more. Many students ducked for cover, while others were knocked off their feet. A large portion of the ceiling came toppling down, towards the students….

Hoffman threw out his right hand, his teeth gritted. The large piece of plaster froze in midair, hovering there for a few moments. Hoffman threw his arm out in a tossing motion, and the plaster was hurled up the grand staircase, into an upper floor of the academy.

"Get out of here," Lao Shi told the dragons. "It is your only option."

"But they'll see us!" Raffi shouted.

"Not necessarily," Hoffman said. "Listen closely, everyone!" he shouted. "By the window by the swimming pool, you will find a small tree in a pot up against the wall; I'm sure you know of it. Move the pot to the right, and you will find a small button. Press the button and turn to your rear… the wall will 

reveal a door that was certainly not there before. I used this passageway whenever I needed to sneak out of the academy; since I created it, I am almost certain that the Reich does not know about it. It will lead into a tunnel, which will seemingly stretch for miles—trust me, it is a long one. But keep going, and soon you will find yourself in the forest. There… well, you will know what to do. Trust me."

"Can everyone fit in there?" Shade asked.

"They will have to. It's our only option."

"What about you two, then?" said Ash.

Hoffman looked down at Lao Shi. "If I am not mistaken," he said, "Lao would like me to accompany him outside. Am I correct?"

"If you are up to the task," Lao Shi whispered, "my friend."

Hoffman nodded. "Shade, Jake, everyone else—get everyone in that tunnel. We will find you. I promise."

The seven dragon students nodded to Hoffman, and then to Lao Shi. "I am proud," Lao Shi said, "to have called myself your dragon master." He turned to Jake as well. "All of you."

"I'm not leaving you…" Jake said grimly.

"As your master and as your grandfather, I am telling you, Jake—leave with them. Do not disobey me."

"But what about you? They'll kill you!"

The students had begun to shuffle towards the pool area, just about everyone that had resided at the academy knowing what Hoffman had spoken of, the other dragons following along attentively. A mere few people remained in the hall.

"If it comes to that," said Lao Shi, "then I would say that I have lived a good life. What about you, Christian?"

"By serving you all," Hoffman said, a bit sadly, "I will have served my kind, and I will have had a hand in saving the magical world. I could not ask for more."

"That settles it," Lao Shi turned back to the students. "Go."

"No…"

Kate grasped Jake's arm and pulled him towards the others. "C'mon, please… you're the American Dragon… we need you…"

"Grandpa!" Jake cried out.

Lao Shi gave a sad wave, and whirled around his wheelchair to face the front door of the academy. "Are you ready?" he asked Hoffman.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Hoffman put his hand to the doorknob, turned it, and let the setting sun's rays fill the hall. He wheeled Lao Shi out of the door, and, not taking another look back, shut the door behind him.

Upon the sight of these two men, many of the trolls waved their clubs, and other creatures let out battle cries of excitement. But they did not move forward, they did not make any attempt to attack. Instead, they watched this amusing sight—a man in a wheelchair, and then another man whose only real purpose, it seemed, was to get the man outside. Only a select few—all dragons, it seemed—appeared to know what was occurring.

"Lao!" shouted Andam. "What are you doing here?"

Andam, Omina, and the other supposed members of the Dragon Council stepped forward, along with Sharp.

"Good evening, Councilors," said Lao Shi as soon as the two groups met. "To whom do I owe this honor?"

"Atticus here told me…"

"Whatever he told you is a lie," Hoffman chimed in. He shot a hateful look at Sharp.

"They've been taken by the Reich's mind control!" Sharp exclaimed. "Council, you mustn't listen to them!"

Andam turned back to Lao Shi. "My friend," he said, "he has said that the students of this academy have been brainwashed by the Reich… including the dragon children whom we have been searching for. They have run Atticus and his faculty out and have threatened them with death."

"A lie," Lao Shi replied. "I can assure you, Councilor, my grandson and his friends are perfectly under their own power."

"And who is this with you?"

"He's the one I was telling you about, Councilor," Sharp said. "He's a rogue, a spy, a traitor! I think that he is the one that has turned my students against me!"

"Is it true that you were employed by this academy?" Omina asked.

"It is, but—"

"Then there is no question," spoke a newer Council member, an Asian man with long black hair. "He cannot be trusted. And neither can Lao Shi."

Andam looked longingly at Lao Shi.

"I shall not deter you from what your fellow Council members have to say," Lao Shi responded. "I ask only that you do what is right."

"Can you provide us any evidence that the students have not done what Atticus says they have done?" asked Omina. It was clear that she was having the same internal fight that Andam was.

"I cannot."

Andam and Omina winced. For a split second, a grin seemed to form at Adam Sharp's mouth.

"Then you leave me with no choice," Andam said sadly. He stepped forward, and raised a long staff. "I am sorry…" he said with nearly no volume at all, with what appeared to be a tear sliding down his face, "…my friend."

Lao Shi did not reply, but merely stared back into Andam's eyes. Hoffman's hands slid down to the old man's shoulders, clutching them tightly.

Two large orbs of yellow light came from Andam's staff. The orbs floated to both men, encompassing them inside the bubble-like structures.

Slowly, bits and pieces of Hoffman and Lao Shi began to fall away, disintegrating into nothingness. It continued, picking up pace, it seemed. And then, inside the orbs, there was nothing. They were gone.

The crowd of magical creatures began to move slowly towards the academy. Inside, at the window nearest the front door, a hawk left its perch at the windowsill and soared back through the hallways of the academy, turning sharply into the passageway Hoffman had directed them to go to.

Students had already begun to climb out of the tunnel into the fleeting sunlight, as night began to set itself upon the forest. As with before, there was not much talking occurring—many believed that the likelihood of the Council hearing them was present, as they did not know how far, exactly, they had ventured from the academy.

Jake Long and Kate were the final two people inside the tunnel. They saw the light ahead of them, welcoming it after having been in near-pitch-darkness for what seemed like forever. But they paused… a hawk had just landed ahead of them. A few of the other dragon students peered down into the tunnel, wondering what the reason for the holdup was. The hawk's features melted away as its size expanded greatly, reverting back into its human form. The shape shifter, a boy named Mark, one of Will's friends, straightened up, took a deep breath, and said, "They killed them. The Council killed Hoffman and Master Shi."

"NO!"

Jake had freed himself from Kate's grip and, in a burst of orange flame, had changed into his dragon form and had rocketed back down the tunnel. "Jake!" Mark called back. "They're coming inside. THEY'RE COMING INSIDE!"

"I've got him!" Kay changed into a dragon and bounded after Jake on all fours.

Jake had always been a fast flyer, and he showed it by having navigated the tunnel in almost no time. But Kay was faster on the ground, and she tackled him right at the entrance of the tunnel.

"Get off me!" Jake growled, plunging his claws into Kay's side. She howled in pain, relinquishing her grip on the dragon and rolling to the side. But before Jake could get up again, a yellow dragon flew out of the darkness and pinned him to the wall.

"Getta hold of y'self, mate!" Fred Nerk screamed into his face.

"They killed him…" stammered Jake. "H-he didn't even do anything…"

"We can't change that, Jake," Fred replied. "What's done is done. We gotta get the others outta here!"

"Go! I'll stay."

"Not today, m'boy," Fred flung the dragon over his shoulder, which seemed to prove faulty, as almost immediately he buckled under the pressure.

"Jake, they're right outside!" Kay yelled, having recovered from Jake's attack. "It's gonna be one against five hundred!"

Jake glared at the doorway, and then back down the tunnel. "…I want them to pay. I want them to suffer!"

"Then come with us," Kay said. "Help us beat the Reich! We can do it with your help."

"Yeah, mate… you're our leader," Fred added.

Jake sniffled once, and turned his back on the doorway. "Let's go, then."

And so they went—rather quickly, as could be inferred. But, as they would find out, those inside the academy would not be able to ignore the open door for much longer. And when they found it… thus would begin a chase like none any of them had ever experienced.

(end)

They were crowded around the large object, not having known at first what it was they had stumbled upon. It was almost like a mirror, at least in terms of size—except for the fact that no one's reflection showed up in it. There were small buttons and a touch screen on the side of the mirror-like object, and it was tall enough to fit just about any person's frame into it.

Kay knelt down beside the object. "What do you think it is?" she asked the others.

"It seems important," Raffi replied, "whatever it is. Like it was placed here… you know, for a reason."

Jake stared at the object, trying still to push the thought of his grandfather out of his mind. But just as he tried to do this, another thought entered his mind. It was of Hoffman—and, more distinctively, of what Hoffman had said before they had left.

"_But keep going, and soon you will find yourself in the forest. There… well, you will know what to do. Trust me."_

"What did he mean?" Jake whispered to himself. "I don't know what to do…"

And then, it hit him.

"It's a teleporter," he said suddenly. "Fu showed me one once." He turned to everyone else. "They want us to get out of here by teleporting out."

Shade rushed over to the teleporter and scrutinized the small touch pad. "He's right," he announced. "There's a place here for your exact location and everything."

"But where to go?" Ash asked.

"I have an idea," replied Shade. "Hold on." He then addressed the entire group. "Everyone, I don't think we have a lot of time so I'll have to make this quick.

"I understand that there are a lot of us, and we really can't keep traveling like this. In that case, I'm giving you all this option: you can either help us, or you can go home to your families. I say this mostly to my classmates here at the academy. I know that none of you asked for this, and I know that many of you are simply glad to be alive. So I say this now: if you do not want to fight, if you do not want to risk your life, go home now. Really, it's okay.

"Those of you that would like to stay with us, please move off to the left," Shade directed. "Everyone else, get in a line near the teleporter. Try to move quickly, everyone!" And with this, Shade located Jake, and walked quickly to him. "Anywhere we all can go?"

Jake paused. "Got a cell phone?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I have an idea."

Shade handed over his phone, and Jake walked deep into the forest, away from the main group. After stopping to think for a moment, he reached down and began to dial a number. To his relief, it began to ring.

"Hi, you've reached Canal Street Electronics, we're closed right now, but maybe—"

"Fu, it's me," said Jake

"…Jake?!"

"Fu, I don't have much time, so I really can't explain anything. But do you have a place that might hold, say, 150-200 dragons and other magical beings?"

"Er… the Magus Bazaar just opened up a new convention center; I might be able to get you there."

"How soon?" Jake asked.

"Gimme fifteen minutes. Where you at now?"

"I don't know, really. But we'll be teleporting there, and we'll need to all come at once."

"I'll let them know. Is Gramps with you?" asked Fu.

Jake paused. "Just… call them, Fu. I'll explain later."

"Alright, kid. Take care of yourself."

Jake closed the phone and returned to the group. At this point, as Shade had ordered, there were two groups—one that had formed a line in front of the teleporter, and another observing quietly. Already, people were filing into the teleporter at a particularly rapid pace—a good thing, considering that those that were staying would have to meet Fu in just a few minutes.

"Thanks, man," he said, handing the phone to Shade. "I have a place we can go."

"Great!" Shade exclaimed. "Where at?"

"New York area…" Jake stared around at the group that they were standing in… "I see most of the students didn't stay."

"Can you blame them?" Raffi asked. "If I wasn't so into this already, I probably wouldn't've stayed either. Will and his friends stayed, though, and so did a few others… plus all the dragons, of course."

They continued to watch, until the last of the group had left. "Okay, everyone," Shade stepped out again. "Jake has a place we can go!"

Everyone cheered in response, and Jake, grinning slightly, walked over to the teleporter and entered in the coordinates of Magus Bazaar. From there, he was able to discover the coordinates of the convention center, and the portal opened. "Everyone in!" shouted Jake, and people quickly began to file inside after him.

As everyone was heading to the same place, it would take far less to make it into the teleporter than before, when hundreds of people were going to hundreds of different locations. "Don't forget to seal the portal once we're done!" called a voice from inside the portal—most likely Jake's.

The seven dragon students were the final ones to head inside, having made sure that everyone else made it in first. James looked around at all of them. "You all ready?"

In response there came a voice, but not a voice that had been emitted by any of his colleagues. Rather, it had come from the tunnel. And soon, more voices joined the din—and it was growing louder.

"They found the door!" Kate cried. "Everyone, let's go!"

Nearly tripping over themselves, they rushed towards the portal, Shade hanging behind, so as to be the one to close the portal. He turned back—to find five trolls and a few humans staring back at him. "Oh no you don't!" he exclaimed, and, with a swinging motion of his arm, sent a stream of jet-blue ice back at the crowd that had congregated, sending many sprawling backwards. Shade leapt inside the portal, still able to see through to the other side. He bent over at the controls, searching wildly for any button that might close the portal. "There they are!" a troll bellowed. "Get them!"

Shade found a red button that he perceived to be the 'close' button. He looked up one more time—Andam, in his dragon form, had emerged from the tunnel and was soaring towards them. "Shade, NOW!" screamed Kay. Shade slammed his hand down on the button, and to their extreme relief, the picture of the tunnel's exit disappeared, and the portal closed.

END CHAPTER

**Holy wow, I didn't end with a cliffhanger! That sure doesn't happen much anymore, eh? **

**So I enjoyed procrastinating from studying for COMS and writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. If not… oh well, can't please everyone.**

**Reviews are love, as always.**

**Yours in fiction,**

**YFWE**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well, I definitely updated quicker on this than usual. That's good, right? :**

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 3: The Mystic Fountain

Chapter 2: Given Away

"Andam saw me come in."

Raffi's eyes widened as she stared at Shade, and thereafter her gaze darted around to the others in the room. "Is that gonna be a problem?"

"I… don't know…" Shade said forlornly. "Jake?"

"What's up?" asked the American Dragon, the only person in the room that was not one of the original dragon students at the academy. The moment Shade had sealed the teleporter's portal, he had pulled all of them into a nearby and (thankfully) unoccupied meeting room and had begun to explain to them the situation.

"Jake, you obviously know more about teleporters than the rest of us," Shade said, facing him. "Would Andam be able to track us even though we closed the portal?"

Jake stood up and began to pace along the exterior of the small room. "No," he said finally. "No, I don't think so. If the portal was closed, then the portal was closed. Most teleporters automatically reset itself once this happens. There's no way they could've looked on, say, the touch pad and have found anything."

Everyone, especially Shade, heaved a sigh of relief.

"…but then, Andam would've been able to see _through _the portal. He could've recognized the other side."

"What are the chances of that?" Kay asked.

"I don't know, it depends on how long a look he was able to get of the other side… and whether or not he's been to the convention center before," said Jake.

"Think he has?" asked Ash.

"I would not doubt it."

"So we'll have to be quick here?"

Jake paused, resting his hands on his forehead for a moment. "Yeah," he said finally. "Because even if they don't know that we came here, they'll know that we'll have gone to New York. New York is my home, where all my friends are… they'll use that against me."

Suddenly, he slammed his fist against the wall. "How could I have been so stupid?! They'll _know _we're here in New York. Why could I not have foreseen this?—we could've gone somewhere else!"

Before anyone had a chance to respond to this, the door flung open and Fred Nerk poked his head inside. "We could hear that out here. What's the deal, Jake?"

"They'll know where to find us, I've led them here…"

"If that's the case, then you'd better speak to the Shar-pei now. He's been waitin' for a good while…"

Jake jumped in surprise. "Fu's here?"

"Been for about five minutes now. I'd've come in and got you, but I didn't wanna… interrupt."

Jake squeezed past Fred and ran out into the hallway, dashing around people as he searched for the dog. Finally…

"Kid, over here!"

Jake spun around to find Fu at the edge of the group, waving frantically. He had a rather dazed look in his eyes, and yet, at the same time, he seemed delighted to see Jake.

"Fu, hey, I…"

"Where WERE you, Jake?!" yelled Fu, grabbing Jake's arm. "Gramps and I were worried _sick_ about you, and you didn't think to call us once? Let us know you were alright? I have a mind to—"

"Gramps is dead, Fu," Jake cut in.

Fu froze. "Say that again?"

"He's dead, Fu. Andam killed him."

The seven dragons emerged from the meeting room and halted abruptly, as they saw that everyone else had turned to look at Jake and Fu.

Fu stared down at the carpeted floor. "I've been around for six hundred years and never did I meet a greater dragon. And I wonder if I ever will."

"Same here, Fu," sighed Jake. "Same here."

"How did he… you know…"

"I…don't know, I didn't see it."

"I think it was painless," spoke Mark, the shape shifter. "From what I saw."

"Then that's all I could ask for," Fu straightened himself up. "You do realize this'll mean increased hours in the shop, Jake."

"You're sounding like him already. Fu, we've got a major problem… did you get us a room?" asked Jake.

"Yeah. It's just around the corner… will you PLEASE explain to me what's going on once we're there?"

Jake nodded, and Fu led him around the corner and toward a group of doors. Jake turned around and beckoned for everyone else to follow.

As the group walked along, they passed a blond-haired woman who, upon seeing the massive group ahead of her, froze, eyes wide, hand to mouth, nearly dropping the stack of papers she had in her arms.

"They're with me," Fu said almost impassively, not even stopping to look at the woman as he passed.

"Ugh, I told her we'd have about 100 or 150 people… why would she act so surprised?" grumbled Fu as he threw open the doors. "I'll tell ya, the management's really lacking here so far… they're really gonna have to work on that."

The room they had entered was entirely too small for the entire group, but they would have to manage—and furthermore, Jake was simply glad to have found a place for everyone to stay, so at that point he really was rather content with just about anything. Almost hurriedly, Fu and Jake corralled 

everyone into the room, in which was a gracious amount of chairs and tables, which were quickly utilized by the various dragons and students.

"Alright, spill it," Fu said, taking Jake off to one side while everyone else got situated. "Where've you all been?"

"The Reich had us hostage, Fu. They had us captive in their base ever since the explosion… until _they_ saved us."

"They? Who's 'they'?"

"Those seven," Jake pointed the dragon students. "They're all dragons… they're the ones Gramps was training."

"At the Stevenson Academy?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Glad to see the old man did something right before he moved on. Where were you held captive? I mean, where is the base?"

"…the Stevenson Academy."

Fu stared at Jake for a moment. "Well, you've officially gotten me majorly confused."

"Stevenson's the leader of the Reich, Adam Smart, the Sovereign. He was gonna try to kill us and the students there, from the sound of it."

"And Gramps walked right into their trap, it sounds like…" Fu trailed off.

"Trust me when I say this," said Jake, "if he hadn't been there, then I wouldn't be here speaking to you now."

Jake turned to his rear, and found that everyone—or, at least, most—had taken a seat inside. "Well, we don't have a lot of time, so I'd better get over there. Thanks again, Fu… you're welcome to listen in if you want."

"I think I'll do just that."

With a quick nod, Jake walked back over to the group of kids and took a seat next to Shade. "Sorry about that… everything's good now," he grinned slightly. "Carry on."

Shade cleared his throat, and everyone quieted down instantly. "Alright, everyone," he started. "I'd first like to thank all of you for deciding to help us out. Raffi counted twenty of you from the academy… I know you guys didn't have to come, so I can't thank you enough. And as for you dragons… well, I suppose you didn't have to come either, so thank you as well.

"So here's the deal—obviously, we've got the Reich on the run, but at the same time, so are we. The Dragon Council's after us, and until we can convince them to come to their senses, it's gonna stay that way. We can't let them get in our way, though—they're really our allies, believe it or not. We can't hurt them, so we have to avoid them.

"Now, here's what we have to do next: while we were at the academy, Smart mentioned something about a fountain from which the Reich got their power. He claimed that if you could destroy the source of their power, then you would effectively defeat the Reich."

"The problem," said Ash, "is that we don't know that he was telling the truth. After all, he IS the Sovereign… it's very possible that he might've said that to lead us astray."

"If I might say something," a girl with a heavy British accent—the British Dragon—raised her hand, "from what I hear, apparently they were gonna kill you anyway, so what harm was there in telling you? At least, that's what I think."

"Good point," said Shade. "They weren't expecting us to fight back. So of course they would tell us."

"Alright. Where's this fountain?" asked Fred Nerk.

The seven dragons all sighed collectively. "We don't… know exactly. The most we know is that it's in Europe somewhere…."

Fu cleared his throat. "Mind if I take a crack at that?"

"Sure, Fu, go ahead…" said Jake.

"Legend has it that there is a mystic fountain in the forests outside of Santiago de Compostella, in Spain. The fountain was supposed to give those who drank from it magical powers—which is why it was hidden deep in the forest."

"…could this fountain give ANYONE magical powers?" asked James.

"_Anyone_. Including humans. So medieval wizards constructed the forest around it so that it was virtually impossible to find by anyone."

"Except for the Reich, it sounds like," Kay said. "So that settles it, then? We're off to Spain?"

"Easy there. You don't know the entire story of the area, and I'd suggest you hear it," Fu said. "The fountain, it is said, only appears after dusk, and disappears at dawn…."

"Well, that'll certainly make it harder to find," Shade said.

"Yeah, and that's not all. Magical beings inhabit the place at night as well…"

Kate gulped. "What kind of magical beings?""

"Let's just say… among other things, they have a definitive werewolf problem."

In the back of the room, a few of the dragons of the world had turned on a nearby television, and had flipped to a channel that the students had recognized as one that was often playing at the academy. It was the MBC, the Magical Broadcasting Corporation, and at that point a news show was being broadcasted. No one really minded, as this was the first real chance some of the dragons had been able to find out what was going on in the outside world.

"I'm guessing we'll be leaving tomorrow?" asked Laura. "It is getting late here, after all."

She was right; it had become quite late with all their activities that day. It was strange to believe, even, that just that morning they had awakened to a meeting called by Shade and the rest of the dragon students, and had later witnessed a mass of imposing magical creatures on the front lawn of their school. It seemed so distant and yet so near… and sleep had begun to sound so inviting…

"Tomorrow," agreed Jake. "Fu, is there another teleporter we can use here? I mean, since the portal closed and all…"

"Yeah, but it's one of the newer ones… far more restrictive. Unlike this last teleporter it appears you used, this one allows you only to teleport to another teleporter. If you can get a direct route to Santiago de Compostella, then you'll be sittin' well. But if that's not the case—and I'm guessing it won't be—then you might have a ways to travel," explained Fu.

"That's okay… from the sound of it, we'll have a lot of time on our hands anyway, since this fountain doesn't appear until the night," said Raffi. "Right?"

"They'll have a base somewhere around there," said Fu. "You can count on that. And it'll be a base that is there all the time… so you'll be able to find it first. Not that I'd recommend trying to take out the Reich…"

"Why not?" asked Ash. "We've done it twice already, and there was only a handful of us. Look at us now!"

Fu put his paws up. "Hey, if you wanna go against one of the strongest evil organizations in the world in what is more than likely their stronghold, then hey, be my guest. I'm just recommending that you _find _the place… if you find it, the fountain is probably nearby."

Shade nodded. "Let's see, is there anything else to go over?"

Before anyone could answer, there came a yell from the rear of the room. "Hey!" cried a boy of Latin American descent. "Come see this!" He was pointing wildly at the television set. In seconds, everyone was crowded around the TV, some squinting to see what on the screen, as a hundred-plus people crowded around one television set did pose some problems for those seated further back.

Onscreen, a red ticker was flashing at the bottom of the screen, one that read 'Special Alert.' A goblin woman was speaking rapidly from behind a news desk, although she was muted, so simple subtitles were fleeting across the screen, subtitles that were undeniably delayed. "Turn the volume on!" someone shouted, and almost instantly the sound of the goblin's voice filled the room.

"—are believed to be highly dangerous and should be approached with extreme caution. They are currently traveling in a large group of over a hundred. Dragon Councilors Andam, Omina, Kim, Alton, and Mansard are reported to be currently pursuing the vigilantes, and other correspondents have already captured hundreds of other students thought to be sympathizers of the aggressors…"

A picture was shown of many children, all in handcuffs, being led away by various people clad in police-like uniforms, children that looked all too familiar….

"It's the other students from the academy!" shouted a girl, solidifying everyone's fears. Thereafter, a large outcry was emitted from all in the room, for they knew what had occurred.

Shade spun around to face the rest of the group, and Raffi returned a solemn gaze. "The Reich," he growled. "Jake, you think the Reich's behind this?"

"Of course. They already got through to the Council; the MBC was destined to fall next," Jake replied shakily.

Although the goblin's voice was no longer able to be distinguished, more pictures continued to flash across the screen—including those of all the dragons of the world that were there, in a dated group photo. On the ticker at the bottom of the screen, a flashing marquee read: "Missing dragons found; under Reich mind control. "

"Great, now everyone will be looking for us," lamented Ash. "What should we do, guys?"

"I think you're safe here," Fu said. "At least for the time being. Just stay calm, whatever you do—"

There was a loud knocking at the doors to the room. Everyone in the room gasped, and a few even screamed.

"I thought you said we'd be safe, Fu…" said Jake through gritted teeth.

"Believe me, I thought so," Fu replied. "Just stay quiet, maybe they'll go away…"

The knocking returned, slightly more rushed than the last. "H-hello?" came a woman's voice. "Anyone in there?"

Fu let out a huge sigh of relief. "It's just the woman that works here, the one that we passed in the hallway earlier. Let's go see what she wants…"

They opened the door, finding the woman standing with those same papers tucked in her arms, perhaps trembling a bit. "Yes?" asked Shade shortly.

"T-terribly, sorry to bother y-you," the woman stammered, as if the sight of all these people was infinitely frightening, "but we n-need this room, I'm sorry, I g-gave you the wrong room. If you'll follow me, your real room is downstairs…"

Fu shrugged. "No worries, miss. Everyone, clear out, we're moving downstairs."

Slowly they began to exit the room. Jake strode beside Fu at the front as they followed along behind the woman, but soon pulled the dog aside. "This is the second time I've had to ask someone this today, Fu, but can I use your cell phone?"

"What for?"

"I wanted to make some calls… a few for my own sanity, others for… reinforcements, if you know what I mean."

"I might," Fu pulled out his cell phone. "Make it quick, will ya?"

The convention center, they soon discovered, was quite massive, as it seemed as if they walked around various corners and down vaguely-similar hallways for far longer than they should have. Jake was able to complete his phone calls in this time, and while no one could distinguish what he was saying, the phrases "How soon can you be here," "I'll be home when this is over," and "No, it's not true" were overheard.

"N-nearly there," stuttered the woman again. "Just around t-this corner." Her pace seemed to pick up at this, and ahead of them they could see the beginnings of a staircase.

"I don't know about the rest of you all," said Kay, "but I'm just glad to be out of that room… it was just too small, I think." She, after Jake and Fu had gone aside, had reached the front of the group, Will by her side.

"I know what you mean," Will replied with a small laugh. "Hopefully this one will be bigger."

The hallway emptied out into the staircase-area, and immediately a loud bang was heard from the bottom of the stairs.

Will and Kay spun to their right, just in time to see a silver net flying toward them. Unfortunately, they had no time to react, and the net caught them squarely, sending both of them sprawling against the back wall. They hit the wall with a hard thud, slumping down as the net rooted itself to the ground, firmly securing its captives.

Pandemonium erupted in the hallway. Some rushed to Will and Kay's aid, only to be snared by nets themselves. "Dragon forms!" roared Jake as he soared past everyone, already having become the brilliant red dragon known as the American Dragon. He flew into the stairway, beholding the aggressors from which the nets had come.

By the front doors of the convention center were, once more, the Dragon Council, as well as innumerable others, most of which appeared, at that moment, human. More nets were shot in his direction, but Jake avoided them with ease, performing amazing aerial acrobatics that a few of the dragon students had never dreamed of pulling off.

"Right behind you, Jake!" called Fred, his yellow dragon self racing after the American Dragon. Other dragons, realizing finally what was occurring, followed Jake's battle cry and went into their dragon forms, soaring into the large stairway area.

Fu peeked around the corner and sighed in exasperation. "Looks like our lady friend here at the center gave us away. And these new councilors seem to be out for blood…"

Raffi knelt beside the dog. "What about Andam and Omina?"

"They're hanging back right now. Looks like they're on the fence about this… oh wait, never mind, the Chilean Dragon just sent a fireball at Andam… he never really liked him…"

Nets continued to fly up the stairway, but none appeared to be hitting any target other than the back wall. Will and Kay were motionless under their net, apparently unconscious. A few of Will's 

friends, along with Laura and Kate, had rushed immediately to the silver net, trying to slash it open, but to no avail. Thus they had retreated back to the hallway, where, up to that point, no combat was occurring.

Shade stepped forward finally. "You guys willing to join them?" he asked out loud, referring to the other dragons. "We beat the Reich before, after all, didn't we?"

"This isn't the Reich, man, this is the Dragon Council!" Mark, the shape shifter, exclaimed.

"If you weren't prepared to fight, you shouldn't've come along," James said. "If you wanna leave, go find the teleporter. I'm going in…"

There was a murmur of agreement. "Good luck," Fu said. "Speaking of the teleporter, I'm gonna go find it for you guys. Whether you like it or not, you'll have to use it eventually, even if you're able to hold the Council back. Tell Jake that for me, will ya? I'll signal when I've found it."

Shade nodded briskly to Fu, and the dog ran back down the hallway. "Alright, then," he said. "Ready?"

"Ready," replied most, if not all, of the remaining group of about fifteen.

"Dragon forms, for those who have one." And then: "Let's go."

Shade touched off the ground, followed closely by the five other dragons. Behind them, Mark and three other shape shifters, two girls and one boy, went into various imposing forms—a lion, a bear, an eagle, and a tiger, respectively. The other six—all wizards and witches, as it were—readied themselves as well, some muttering incantations before setting out.

The struggle was alive and well. Dragons mostly circled in the air—it was, after all, the Dragon Council that had come with the army. A few trolls, however, were scattered amongst the grounds, as were a few people that appeared to be wizards, as bright flashes of light were continuously emitted from their fingertips.

Jake Long flew through the air, his gaze continually searching the grounds, sometimes aiming a nicely-placed fireball at an unsuspecting troll. Finally, his eyes became affixed on one man, who was standing near the back of the room—attempting, it seemed, to stay out of the fracas. But Jake was not going to let him stay undetected.

"Andam!" Jake cried out with a bit of a laugh. "Wanna dance?"

The old man stared up at the approaching dragon. For a split second the corners of his mouth flickered upward, and he leapt out of the way of the dragon with seconds to spare. He transformed into 

his dragon form and sent a fireball back at Jake. But Jake was ready, and sent an equally-imposing ball of flame at the approaching one, creating a minor explosion that knocked both of the dragons backward.

Shade had set his sights on a troll who was repeatedly clubbing dragons that flew too close to him. Circling for a good while and avoiding other conflicts, he soared in from behind and rammed into the troll's back, sending him sprawling.

Ash and Raffi had teamed up on a humongous beast of a dragon, which seemed impervious to most of their physical attacks. The dragon sent a long stream of jet-blue ice at Raffi and Ash, who both returned a long torrent of fire. The ice melted in midair, but the dragon did not seem remotely phased. Instead, it flew at the two dragons as quickly as it possibly could, scattering both of them.

James and Shade met midair near the ceiling of the room. "Seen Smart anywhere?" asked James breathlessly, a deep cut already present in his right arm.

"No," returned Shade, dodging a blast of white magical energy. "He probably bailed on them, went back to Europe…"

"Hey!" Fred Nerk's voice came from below them. "Less talkin', more fightin', mates!"

"He's right," James said. "Pleasure talking to you!" And he soared off toward Kate, who was preoccupied with a dragon of her own.

There was an enormous crash as the front doors of the center caved in, as did the part of the wall above it. Two giants stumbled inside, stepping over the wreckage.

"Dammit," said Laura. "We've got company, Shade."

"I see 'em," Shade replied. "Just stay as far away from them as possible…"

In a group of three were the three new Councilors—Kim, Alton, and Mansard. They were effectively eliminating the other students at the academy one by one, once any of them seemed brave enough to challenge them. But abruptly, all three were knocked aside by a forceful spell emitted by a figure on the staircase…

"Hey, guys!" Will exclaimed from the stairway, waving at his classmates. "Those nets absolutely sucked… Kay was able to get out of them almost instantly, once we woke up…"

Kay sped past him, bowling over a few trolls in the process. And then, as Kim, Alton, and Mansard were attempting to regain their stances, she promptly knocked them over as well.

Andam had retreated to the stairway and was beginning to move up it, but Jake was close behind. "Where're you going, Andam?" Jake asked loudly. "I wanted to ask you a few questions… about my grandpa!"

Teeth gritted, Andam sent a blast of fire back at the young dragon, and soared up the stairs and around the corner, into another hallway. Jake made an attempt to follow, but was blindsided by Omina. "Jake!" she cried, pinning him to the ground. "Snap out of this! The Reich has you under their mind control. We _need_ your help."

"_You're_ the ones under the mind control, Omina," Jake growled in return. "Smart's got you all fooled."

"Smart? Who's Smart?"

Omina never got her answer, as Jake sent a healthy breath of fire into her face, rendering her defenseless for a few moments. He wriggled from her grip and took off up the stairs. "Jake!" exclaimed Omina. "No!"

"Where's Jake going?" Raffi asked aloud.

"He's getting Andam…" smiled Ash as she dodged a punch from a troll. "Nice."

The battle stretched on. There had been no casualties, but already there were many dragons littering the floor, along with a few human forms.

Kate was knocked to the ground by one of the giants, much to her dismay. Looking up, she saw the giant's enormous club raised over its head, ready to come down. She winced and shielded her face; she knew she wouldn't be able to react in time…

"The cavalry is HEEEERE!!"

The giant was thrown to the side by a large wooden crate with wheels, in which sat an African American girl and a boy with a beanie hat covering his head. The boy had his arms raised high in triumph. "Direct hit!" he exclaimed. "Tiiiiimber!"

Behind them, a small pink dragon and long, slender blue dragon entered the center, along with a teenage boy with a long, flowing cape. The pink dragon flew quickly toward Kate, who was still in shock of what had happened. "My brother," the dragon, a girl, said. "Where is he?"

"I-I'm sorry," stuttered Kate. "I'm not sure—"

"Jake," the dragon replied. "Jake Long?"

Kate pointed toward the staircase, and the pink dragon immediately sped off in that direction. "Haley!" the blue dragon exclaimed, grabbing the pink dragon around the waist. "No!"

"I have to see him, Sun! I have to help my brother."

"No, Haley… we stay here."

The caped boy extended a hand to Kate. "Let me help you up," he said. "The name's Nigel… Jake Long called us."

Kate took his hand pulled herself up. "Hey, I'm Kate. Here's the deal: don't go after any of us kids, we're all on the same team. It's the adults—"

"Yeah, yeah, I figured as much," Nigel said. "Spud, Trixie, are you okay?!"

From the wooden cart, the two teens emerged. "Yeah, Nigel, we good," the girl replied. "Thanks for givin' us the speed to take out that giant…"

"Yeah," agreed the boy. "I _knew _my unfinished Trojan horse would come in handy!'

"Right, well, thanks for coming," Kate said. "But we're sitting ducks here… get fighting!"

"Sounds good to me!" grinned Nigel. "Be careful, you two!" he called to Spud and Trixie, and ran off toward the fight. Kate, thereafter, returned to the air.

There was a blinding flash of light, and Laura was sent flying into the street outside. "Dammit," she rubbed her forehead, "that really hurt." She happened to glance to her side…

Far away, where the corners of the building met, was a hooded, white-robed figure, whose hands were glowing, the glow slowly rising into the sky.

"The Reich!" Kate gasped. Quickly, she spun to her right. At the other corner of the building was a similar sight: another Reich member, the same glow rising to the sky.

"GUYS!" Laura screamed, soaring back inside. "GUYS! THE REICH, THEY'RE OUTSIDE!"

For the first time during the entire battle, everyone stopped what they had been doing to stare at Laura. She did not, however, wait for any of them to make a move toward the doors, as she turned and raced toward the robed person on the left.

The Reich member looked over, seeing the dragon approach. The glow disappeared from its hands and it leapt into the air. For a split second, the figure lowered its hood, and Kenneth Harrelson winked back at Laura. Laura grunted as she flew past Harrelson, having missed her target. Looking back, she could see that everyone, students and Council alike, had spilled out into the street, and a few had already begun to go after the Reich member on the other side.

"Abort mission," Harrelson yelled, and his voice seemed magnified a hundred times. "I repeat: abort mission."

"Oh no you don't!" growled Laura, soaring wildly at her former 'boyfriend.' Talons outstretched, she aimed for the throat of the shape shifter. But once again, before she could do a thing, Harrelson was gone, as well as the Reich member on the opposite side.

The group congregated once more at the head of the building, Omina joining up last. "It was the star formation again," she said wearily. "They had three others situated around the building… they were going to pull off the same explosion as they did at the Isle of Draco."

"Then I would say that we were quite lucky to have spotted it," Sun said. "Regardless, I believe the Dragon Council owes these students apologies… for linking them with the Reich."

Omina stared around at, it seemed, each and every dragon and academy student individually. "You have my apologies," the old woman said. "We were tipped off with some questionable information from Atticus Stevenson…"

"Atticus Stevenson is actually Adam Smart," spoke Raffi, "to put it shortly. He's the leader of the Reich."

"Ah, then this all makes far more sense," nodded Omina. "My fellow Councilors, do you have anything you wish to say?"

The three new Councilors, Kim, Alton, and Mansard, replied begrudgingly with apologies. For some odd reason, however, none of them seemed to want to admit that they had been wrong.

"Councilor Andam?" Omina asked. There was no response.

Shade gasped. "He's still inside!" he exclaimed. "Andam and Jake! They were fighting—"

"Oh, no," Omina's eyes widened. "I will need to contact Andam, then…"

But as it turned out, she did not need to contact Andam to cease the fighting; it had ended long ago, but it had not ended the hostility between Jake and the Councilor.

They were in a hallway, Andam at one end; Jake, the other. "Jake," sighed Andam. "I… do not wish to fight you."

"Yeah?" Jake shot back. "Why'd you come here, then? To kill me to?"

Andam looked at Jake solemnly. "You do not understand…"

"Of course I don't. I'm under the Reich mind control, remember?"

Andam growled. "Listen, I know you're not. At least… I am pretty sure you are not. But you see… Atticus Stevenson is a respected man, and we wanted to see through his request."

"Stevenson's not even real," Jake laughed a bit. "He's Adam Smart. AKA the Sovereign. I'm sure you know the name…"

Andam's eyes widened. "Indeed… indeed I do."

"Yeah, we were held captive in that 'academy' for God knows how long, until the students bailed us out. And now we're on a little journey to go take out the Reich once and for all."

Andam grinned. "I like the sound of that," he said. "Come on downstairs with me, back to the rest of the group. I can end the fight, and we can sort this out…"

"Yeah, let's do that." Jake had already turned and had soared back down the hallway, Andam in tow.

(end)

They were atop a building nearby the center, having teleported there when the situation turned bleak. However, all was not lost, according to Kenneth Harrelson.

"So what if they saw us?" he laughed as he watched the entire group head back inside. "Taking them all out was only plan A. Luckily, we can commence with plan B."

"Indeed," Marcus Feisley agreed. "I just simply did not want it to happen this soon."

"Nor did I, Marcus," said LaGuardia. "But what's done is done." She took out a cell phone and put it to your ear. "We are commencing with the second part of the plan," she said calmly, and ended the call without waiting for any response.

"You called the Sovereign, right?" Warburton asked.

"Smart? Of _course _I did."

"I fail to see why you refer to him as 'Smart' when he has all but abandoned the name," Harrelson growled. "What makes you better than us?"

"More than you'll ever know," replied LaGuardia coldly. She turned to the fifth member of their group. "Green, the device, if you please." Amenably, the man brought forward a small piece of equipment, one with a tiny switch on its front. Taking the device in her hands, LaGuardia held it before her. "It is time to see if our experiments have been successful, gentlemen," she said, and flipped the switch.

(end)

"The teleporter is on the _first _floor," was Fu's report. "It's ready whenever you are."

"Thanks, Fu," Jake said. He turned to Shade. "Should we still leave tomorrow morning?"

Obviously, their group had doubled, what with the Council and its allies now joining them. Their former adversaries had been informed of the situation, and of Santiago de Compostella, and of the fountain… and now were listening intently to the conversation.

"I think we'll have to," Shade replied. "As much as I'd like to leave now… the Reich'll be expecting us now, I'm sure. We'll stay here for the rest of the night."

"Fair enough," Fred Nerk said. "Will everyone be going with us, then?"

"The Council will need to retreat to the Isle of Draco this evening," Omina said. "But we can send reinforcements tomorrow morning… rest assured, we will be with you. We simply must clear up a few things with the media…"

"Understandable," said Sun Park. "And Jake, I want you to know that Haley and I will accompany you as well… I would like to help, and it will be good practice for Haley."

"And we're in too," Spud slapped Jake on the back. "For moral support, of course."

"And since I'd just love to travel to Europe," Trixie added.

"Aye, and myself included," said Nigel, shaking Jake's hand.

Shade was grinned warmly. "This is great," he said. "We'll have no problem stopping them now, right Jake…?"

Jake did not respond. Trixie looked at him curiously. "Hey, Jakey," she said in concern. "…you good?"

Jake's hand suddenly shot to his opposite elbow. The other dragons in the room—the ones that were representing the world over, that is—did the same.

"…Jake?" Trixie repeated.

Ash let out a quick gasp and whipped around to Shade. "Remember when they said they had been experimented on?!" she said quickly. "And they all showed the holes in their elbows…"

Each and every dragon stood up, their hands still covering their elbows. Their eyes began to glow white…

"…Jake!" Trixie repeated once more, beginning to back away.

They shifted into their dragon forms, eyes still glowing.

The five Council members, who had seated themselves at the base of the stairs, stood. Each dragon turned to face them.

"_Hello, Councilors_," all ninety dragons spoke in unison. "_The Reich sends its greetings and well-wishes._"

"_Now, prepare to be eliminated_."

END CHAPTER

**Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Wasn't that just fun?**

**I apologize for this chapter, actually. As compared to the previous chapter, I did not exactly find it up to standards. It was most certainly rushed. In addition, I would've liked to do more with the battle scene.**

**The problem is that I'm a terrible action writer; I hate doing it. Maybe when less characters are involved, sure. Like in the labyrinth earlier in this story. I can do that. But not this.**

**Ah well, the next one should be better… in fact, I have not decided yet, but it might be the final chapter. **

**I'll know soon. Thanks for reading, and reviews are always welcome!**

**Yours in fiction,**

**YFWE**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey look, an update! Sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter… I got a bit busy this past month. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter, though!**

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 3: The Mystic Fountain

Chapter 3: London

Bodies ducked to the ground as fireballs, shards of ice, and lightning bolts streaked overhead. The battle had recommenced; the Dragon Council and its army sprang into action, countering the teenage dragons' attacks with attacks of their own.

Amidst the fracas, a voice was calling out for Shade. The blue dragon (all who could become dragons had done so following the sudden attack) whirled around, finally finding the source—Fu—at the other side of the staircase. Taking care to avoid the various blasts of magical energy around him, he flew over to the dog. "What is it?" he asked.

"You gotta get outta here," Fu said hurriedly. "Get your group and GO!"

"But we can't; look what's going on!"

"Trust me on this. If you don't leave now, you'll never be able to make it."

Shade scowled, but then let out a yell that he hoped would gather everyone he needed. "Soldiers!" he bellowed, thinking of the Master Shi's Soldiers name they had once adopted. "Over here!"

To his surprise, all the former academy students were assembled around him—including three extras, who had made their way over to Fu.

"We need to get going," Shade announced quickly. "Fu's gonna show us how to get to the teleporter."

"Yeah, that's right. And these three will be joining your party, Shade," Fu pointed to the three that had reached him— Nigel, Trixie and Spud. "Now, we don't have much time—follow me!"

Fu turned and dashed into a nearby hallway. The others made moves to follow, but paused momentarily when a shriek was heard: "Don't let them escape!"

"Run!" Shade shouted as they tore back toward Fu. Laura, who was bringing up the rear of the group, turned to look over her shoulder, just in time to see an enormous fireball, one larger than she had ever seen, hurtling toward them.

A light blue dragon emerged from behind the fireball, followed by many others. Sun Park and the Dragon Council, locking arms, formed a line across the hallway, blocking the fireball, but instead allowing it to slam into each of their backs. A few cried out in pain, while others winced.

"No!" Laura screamed, freezing in her tracks. The others reluctantly paused as well.

"Go!" Andam ordered, his face twisted into a grimace. "We'll hold them off!"

Another fireball collided with the dragons, and once more there came cries of pain.

"Please!" cried Sun. "Please, go!" Behind them, the students could see six dragons standing together, combining their fire attacks into one, as a tiny pink dragon tried desperately to curb their efforts.

"Get to the fountain," Andam pleaded. "You're our only hope now. We'll find you in Europe, if we can."

Another fireball was approaching. "Let's go!" Shade said, as up ahead he could see Fu beckoning them forward hurriedly.

"It's down that hallway!" Fu pointed, his paw shaking apprehensively. "You know what to do from there."

"What about you?" demanded Ash.

"My place is wherever Jake is," said Fu sadly. "I am his animal guardian." And with nary another word, he ran back toward the barrier made by the Council, which appeared to be on the brink of collapsing.

Down the hallway they went, Shade as the leader. "Will!" he cried out suddenly.

"Yeah?" called Will back.

"Will, where's the WOPW headquarters?"

"The World Organization of Powerful Wizards?" Will asked. "Um… London. Why…?"

They had reached the teleporter. Shade began to rapidly enter in information on the touchpad. The portal opened.

"Shade, why?" repeated Will.

"We're not going to Spain," Shade announced. "Not just yet. I have an idea." And with that, he leapt inside the teleporter, the others following. Beyond them, six dragons flew past the hallway, limbs hanging limp at their sides, not unlike ragdolls, as they smacked into the ground, motionless.

(end)

"Out of your dragon forms," ordered Shade in as loud a whisper as he could manage. The six other dragons complied, and then they began to stare around the room in which they had entered.

They appeared to be in some sort of attic—there were a few cardboard boxes scattered around the wooden floor, and directly on the opposite side of the room was the top of an oak tree. Of course, the only way they had noticed this was due to the streetlight outside which illuminated the tree and, to a point, the room. Of course, the light shining from the teleporter was assistance as well. Near the window was an indenture into the floor—a small stairway.

"Should we go down?" whispered Raffi, eying the staircase curiously.

"Well, we can't stay up here," Kate whispered back. "Shade, where are we?"

"Somewhere in London. I don't know where, though… I sent us to the first teleporter I could find." Shade stepped forward, walking toward the stairs. "Let's hope the residents are friendly…"

The smell of fresh bread wafted in their direction once they reached the stairs. Shade went first, stepping slowly so as to not incite confusion downstairs. The stairs made a sharp left turn, opening out into an open room. Shade stuck his head around the corner, finding a small bakery. There were three people in the room—one a man behind the front counter; one a customer talking to the man; and one tending to a large oven on the other side of the room.

The customer nodded to the clerk at the counter and, picking up a loaf of bread from the counter, exited the bakery. The clerk smiled and waved, opening a cash register and inserting some money. As he did this, his eyes wandered to the staircase, where he paused, mouth agape, staring at Shade's exposed head. "Jim," he said to the boy stocking the shelves, not removing his gaze from Shade, "take counter duty for a few minutes. I must tend to something upstairs." He motioned to Shade that he head back upstairs, and Shade obeyed, backing up into the others until all were back in the attic.

Once the man's head emerged from the staircase, he stated immediately, "I appreciate it when strangers don't use my teleporter to get around London," he growled. "What's your business here?"

"I'm sorry, sir… we—" said Shade.

"Ah, Americans," the man interrupted him. "Even better."

Nigel cleared his throat. "Not _all_ Americans. I was born in London."

"A fellow Londoner, eh? You brought them here, then? Thought you'd give them the grand tour?"

He paused. "Wait…" he stared around at each and every one of them. "I know you…"

"Er… know us?" asked Kay in confusion.

"You're those kids the MBC was talking about. The rogues…"

"We're not rogues!" shouted Ash.

"You didn't let me finish!" the man snapped. "You're the rogues that the MBC just acquitted. Apparently, whoever leaked the information earlier was lying." He paused. "I just find it ironic that you all would come into my shop…"

"The magical world is in trouble," Shade said. "We're here to see the WOPW. I'm sorry… we got out of a tight spot just now back in America before we came. This was the first London location I found."

"May I ask what sort of tight spot you're referring to?"

Shade stepped forward to the man and motioned to the corner of the room, where he proceeded to explain to him their situation. The others in the group, now finally beginning to understand the reason as to why they had come to London, stood back in respectful silence.

Shade and the man walked back over to the group. "Your friend has explained what you all are up against. I am content to assist you," said the man. "You can't leave yet, though. It's too late at night; no one's at the WOPW headquarters right now. I hope you'll understand."

The man stepped toward the stairs. "You can stay here 'til the time comes. I'll have my wife bring up some blankets and some food, and I'll be back up a little later on. Until then, stay quiet, please. We're not exactly in the Magic District… humans come in from time to time to the bakery. It wouldn't exactly look good if… well, you know the rest." He bowed to them once and exited downstairs.

"So what did you tell him?" whispered Raffi curiously to Shade.

"Surprisingly, not that much. I told him about the fountain, and about the, uh, circumstances that brought us here. Didn't go into much detail, though," Shade replied.

"So you think we can trust him?" Kate asked.

"I think so. We're not 'wanted' anymore, and the Reich's probably not going to find us here. We'll be fine."

An hour passed. There came a sound downstairs of a door locking, and then footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. The man and his wife, a short and plump woman, entered the attic, blankets and a few loafs of bread in hand.

"These should be enough," said the man, dropping the blankets to the ground as his wife began to hand out portions of bread. "I'd rest up now, if I were you."

"But it's not that late…" Ash said as she took a piece of bread.

"May not be in New York! But it's two in the morning here. You're lucky we stay open late, else you might've been out of luck."

The man yawned. "The name's Jeremiah, by the way. Jeremiah Ford. And this is my wife Lillian. We're both wizards, as well as special correspondents to the WOPW here in London. That being said, our teleporter has access to the headquarters, although only on weekends, as WOPW officials sometimes use our teleporter as a means to travel back and forth between the common folk's London and Magical London; they usually have business in these parts on the weekends. But, this being a Thursday, we cannot get you in through the teleporter. So you'll have to walk."

"May I ask what street this house is on?" asked Nigel.

"Court Street."

"Then we're not too far away, are we? One of the entrances to Magical London is on Union Lane, which is one block over… am I right?"

"Indeed you are," Ford nodded. "Then I am guessing you know how to get in once you're on Union Lane?"

"If it hasn't changed in the past year," Nigel said, "then we stand on the sewer grate in the middle of the lane and say the magic word!"

"Which is?"

"Er… now _that _I don't remember. It was something nonsensical."

Ford grunted. "Not nonsensical. Latin. _Ostendo mihi vestri specialis_."

"That's it. We had a school trip to the place a year ago while I was still living here. Someone from the WOPW came out and did it for us," Nigel explained.

"Then you know how to get there?"

"More or less."

"Terrific. If you could, please be awake and ready to leave in about five hours. We open in six hours, and it'll be hard to get you all out once that happens. Good night!" he once again bowed and left with his wife.

Luckily, there were enough blankets for all, and within minutes of the Fords' departure, the children had collapsed into a deep sleep. It had been a long day, starting with the meeting of all the students of the academy to the battle with the Dragon Council and its allies. And apparently, it would only get harder.

Shade lay awake against the back wall, saying nothing, but still unable to sleep regardless. His eyes were squinted, as if the idea of sleep was appealing to them, but they were still fumbling with the concept, just as the rest of his body. He had been this way for an hour and counting; the rest of the group had retired long ago.

His mind was a cloudy mess of thoughts and emotions, swirling about his head like a cyclone. Never in his life had he experienced such a thing, and he really knew not why. After all, it was not as if the worst would be occurring the next morning, he thought. They merely had to visit the WOPW headquarter, nothing more; the truly worrisome aspect of their journey, their entrance into the supposed base of the Reich, would occur later. Still, for whatever reason, he did not feel any better.

He had become the leader, something he had never intended upon becoming. At first, it had seemed to be an appealing position, and Shade had taken it in stride. But the pressure was getting to him now—he had nineteen others under his charge. What if one of them was to get hurt… or worse? However could he live with himself?

Shade had always considered himself to be a brave individual. But the fear had caught up to him.

A body stirred nearby. Shade's gaze darted over to the moving figure as it rolled onto its side. Raffi's sleepy eyes stared back at him.

"Can't sleep?" she asked, with a stifled yawn.

"Nope. Been thinking," he replied.

Raffi propped herself up with her elbows. "What about?" she whispered.

"Pretty much everything."

Standing and stepping over James, Raffi tiptoed over to Shade, kneeling down against the wall beside him. "I hate to add to it, then, but… I had something I needed to talk to you about."

"What a coincidence," said Shade. "So do I."

They both knew what was coming.

Raffi glanced up at the ceiling. "I… think we should, I dunno, take a break, or something."

"You mean break up?"

"Yeah," said Raffi, unable to face Shade.

Shade nodded. "That's what I was gonna say to you."

"Oh…" Raffi nodded. "I just don't think being together is right for either of us right now, anyway. Not with what is happening right now."

"I agree. Plus we kinda staggered into that blindly, you know?"

Raffi shrugged. "A little, yeah."

There was silence once more as Raffi and Shade, eyelids heavy from lack of sleep, searched for what to say to the other.

"…we could always try again sometime in the future, also…"

"Yeah."

"And we can definitely still be friends."

"I'd like that."

Raffi stood once more, her hand over her mouth as she yawned again. "You should try to get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day."

"Don't remind me."

Smiling, Raffi bid Shade a good night as she walked back to her blanket. Shortly thereafter, just after four in the morning, Shade finally let the welcoming waves of sleep flow over him.

(end)

Magical London was a barren city after the hour of two in the morning, it had been determined over the years. Rarely were residents actually outside during that hour, and those that were usually had no business being out. It was a shame; the city was dazzling at night, no matter what the nighttime hour.

The imposing clock known as Big Ben chimed two, its joyous bells echoing through the city as it always did every hour, on the hour.

If one looked closely, a passerby might have been able to see, if scrutinizing Big Ben's eastern-turned face, a figure just below the six that was not usually there. But no matter—there was rarely anything the matter with Big Ben, after all. Why should that night be any different?

The figure peered out at the London skyline, scanning the building tops for a familiar sight. The figure, a feminine one, stroked her red hair out of her eyes as she looked closer and closer… until she found what she was looking for—a large building with a great dome at its roof.

The woman grinned. She pulled her white robe around her shoulders and her hood about her head and leapt from the clock, hurtling toward the ground below.

She vanished, but reappeared on the street below. The red-haired woman began to run, occasionally disappearing once more, before materializing many paces ahead. The occasional passerby never saw the woman, but would feel a slight wind as she passed—sometimes even feeling a brush on their overcoats.

The woman darted into an alley near the building with the dome. She grinned as she viewed the building from her hiding spot, nodding to herself as she did so.

She slunk back into the shadows of the alley, removing her gaze from the building. She began to teleport once more, but not without first saying a simple word, a word which, it was later said, echoed through the streets of Magical London that very night.

"_Nine._"

(end)

The sun had barely risen over the rooftops of that part of London when Ford came bounding up the stairs. "Everyone up!" he bellowed once he was at the top of the stairs. "We need to get you all out of here by twenty minutes from now. Come on down when you're ready."

It took them ten minutes, but soon enough, everyone had made their way into the store, where the aroma of fresh bread was already floating invitingly in their direction. "You'll be leaving in groups of four," explained Ford as he once again handed out bread, "so as to not attract attention to yourselves. Be sure that you all know where the portal to Magical London is—you will all be congregating there. You should be able to find your way from there, I daresay."

"Thank you," Shade said, shaking the man's hand. "How can we thank you?"

"Find a way to defeat the Reich," replied Ford shortly. "That is all we ask."

And with this, the kids began to depart—four by four. This required an additional ten minutes, but soon enough, the entire group had reformed in the alley-like Union Lane, at which the portal within the sewer grate was located.

Nigel stood at the center of the grate. "Everyone, either grab onto me or grab onto someone who has grabbed onto me," he ordered. He then stared down at the grate, muttering, "_Ostendo mihi vestri specialis,_" precisely as Ford had said the previous evening.

A radiant light erupted from the sewer grate, encompassing its surroundings—the students included. The lid of the sewer grate either disappeared or the students somehow became intangible, as a formerly unfelt force pulled them down inside the newfound hole.

Down they fell, flurries of bright colors surrounding them like a wall of vivid dyes, providing a sort of pathway to the depths of underground London, or so it seemed. Below them, a white light, tiny at first, was nearing them, all the while growing larger.

Gravity began to shift; suddenly, the students felt as if they were being flipped over so that they were instead falling upward toward the light.

Into this light they entered, emerging into a street that appeared similar to the London street from which they had just come. A slight wind rustled through the lane and the morning sun shone enticingly upon them. Nearby, the sounds of a bustling crowd could be heard.

"Welcome to Magical London," Nigel announced, smoothing out his clothes. "Quite similar, as you'll see, to the London of the human world, although with some important differences—namely, of course, the place to which we'll be heading: the WOPW headquarters."

"Sounds good," nodded James. "Where is it?"

"Um…" Nigel put his finger in the air and whirled around once. "_That_… way, I think," he said, pointing off toward where the din of the bustling crowd seemed to be coming from. "It's a big building, easily recognizable."

They walked out into the next street, which was at the end of the street they had just exited from. A sort of bazaar appeared to have been erected just down the street on their left, and about a hundred meters further long, at the end of the street, was an immense white building, approximately three stories high, with an enormous yellow dome at its top. "That's it," said Nigel. "That's their headquarters."

It was nearly eight, and yet the city seemed to be wide awake—especially in the makeshift marketplace just up the road. As the group passed it, some gave fleeting stares in their direction, as if in recognition, but no one seemed to want to actually interact with them—perhaps it was strength in numbers since, after all, their group was twenty members strong by that time.

"So," Shade tried to make conversation as they walked through the bazaar so as to curtail the awkward feelings most of them were getting, "why'd you guys come?" He was referring, of course, to Nigel, Trixie and Spud: Jake's friends.

"We said we'd help Jake," Nigel replied quickly, "so here we are. Figured we'd be much more of a help with you guys than with the Council."

"Plus, I don't wanna fight my best friend unless I absolutely have to," Spud added. "And from what I hear, the Reich are real schemers… if there's any puzzles or complex mathematical equations of death, I'm your guy."

Shade glanced over at Trixie, who had not yet replied. She was instead on a cell phone, talking hurriedly to whoever was on the other line. "She's getting a hold of one of Jake's friends," Spud explained. "Ninja-type. Really good fighter."

The doors to the headquarters were uncharacteristically small, at least proportionate to the rest of the building. The doors, it turned out, were automatic, as they moved apart as soon as the group neared them.

Inside was a large atrium, one whose ceiling stretched all the way to the large dome at the top of the building. The walls were made of gray stone, but the stone did not seem to have eroded much; rather, the walls looked to be in about as perfect a condition as possible.

A statue stood at the center of the room of a tall, proud wizard, his left arm outstretched, hand balled into a fist. Fountains surrounded the statue, causing a slight mist.

Beyond the statue was a long desk at which many receptionists sat. Since it was so early, no 'customers' seemed to have visited yet. The receptionists' faces turned upward when they heard the group approaching, and a few even began to whisper to others—apparently noting either the size of the group or the notoriety of a few of its members… or perhaps both.

They made their way over to the centermost receptionist, a woman with long black hair. Behind her, a TV screen flashed a map of the building that changed every-so-often.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked, glancing around at the many members of the group.

"We need to talk to someone from the WOPW," Shade said. "The leader, perhaps?"

"Robert Francis," added Nigel, nodding to Shade.

The receptionist seemed taken aback for a moment. "Mr. Francis… um, you'd need an appointment for him."

"It's urgent," said Shade quickly. "Really…"

"Are you guys the rogues…?" asked a nearby receptionist. "The ones on the MBC that got acquitted?"

Shade nodded to her. "That'd be us."

"Maybe we should let them through, Madison," said the other receptionist. "Mr. Francis doesn't have any appointments now anyway…"

Madison shrugged. "I'll try to put him on videophone. Excuse me," she said, dialing a number on her phone and putting it to her head. "Mr. Francis? Hi. Mind going on videophone? I've got some kids here who want to see you… no, sir, I don't know who they are… yes, sir, thank you very much." She set down the phone and pressed a button nearby.

The map on the TV screen behind her disappeared, and a brown-haired man of about 30 appeared onscreen. He squinted at the group at first, but soon his eyes widened as recognition set in. "Yes, yes… send them up. No… send four up." His face was then gone from the screen, and the map reappeared.

"Okay, you heard him," Madison said. "Four. Then, please proceed to the elevator over there," she pointed to a bank of elevators at the end of the desk on her right, "and go to level three. Mr. Francis will be expecting you."

Shade turned around. "Ash and Raffi, come with me. The rest of you stay here… we'll be back as soon as we can."

Ash and Raffi stepped forward to join Shade and Nigel, and together the four of them made their way to the elevators. "What will we be doing up there?" asked Ash as the nearest elevator opened. "Why do we need to talk to the WOPW leader?"

Shade let the elevator doors close before he spoke. "I don't know if we can do this alone," he said. "We had the Council on our side for a while, but they might not be able to make it to Spain. We need reinforcements… and I think that the WOPW would be a great asset."

The doors reopened out into a single room. A man sat at the edge of the room behind a desk, staring out of a window which had a view of a sleepy, early morning London. A few unmistakable London landmarks—including Big Ben—were visible, and Shade thought of Nigel's earlier statement: Magical London was quite similar to the London of the human world.

"Sit down," said Robert Francis, not yet turning around to see them. Four chairs appeared instantly on the other side of the desk, and Ash, Shade, Raffi and Nigel took them gratefully. Francis turned to face them, a smile spread across his face. "I've been following you all on the news lately… I figured you were still back in New York."

"We left, sir," Shade started. "The Dragon Council stayed behind: the Reich is controlling the other dragons!"

"Yes, I know," nodded Francis. "On the news this morning… currently, the only people accounted for are two sympathizers with the Council who were able to escape and give their accounts of what occurred… oh, and then there are the bodies…"

Raffi gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. The others' gazes turned downward.

"But let's not dwell on that, shall we? What have you come to see _me _for?"

"Well…" said Shade. "Mr. Francis, we've discovered the location of the Reich's headquarters, as well as the source of their power."

"Excellent!"

"Yeah… we just were wondering if you'd be willing to help us. The WOPW, I mean."

Francis paused. "You want us to send reinforcements?"

"That would definitely help."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I am just as interested in taking down the Reich as the next person… people are beginning to become frightened for their lives, and it is not good for my reign, if you know what I mean! We simply never had a lead," his eyes narrowed. "How are you so sure that this is the place? Where IS this place, rather?"

"Spain," Ash said. "Santiago de Compostella, Spain."

Francis gasped quietly. "That's where Baker's Fountain is rumored to be."

"Oh, it has a name?!"

"Well, it was named after the man who supposedly discovered it first!" said Francis. "People rarely actually find it, though… a man who worked here some time ago, Marcus Feisley, claimed to have received his power from it, however."

"Feisley's a part of the Reich," Shade growled.

"Is he?!" laughed Francis. "Well, then this certainly makes more sense! Of course they would put their base near their power source—granted, of course, that Feisley's not the only one that got his power from it."

"They did," Shade nodded. "If we can destroy the fountain, we can destroy the Reich. That's all we're trying to do."

"Then you have my support," Francis nodded. "Hell, you have the WOPW's support!"

"Thank you, sir," grinned Nigel. "So will you be sending troops with us?"

"Yes, of course! If you can wait until tomorrow, we will have forces ready by then. I'll stay in touch with you."

"…sir, we'll need a place to stay, then," said Shade.

"No problem at all!" Francis leapt to his feet and pulled out a piece of paper, beginning to write. "I'll give you the address of the Jones Hotel uptown, as well as my cell phone number. They will take care of you until the time of departure comes. If anything should change, you'll know where to contact me."

Shade looked down at his watch. It was 8:45; they still had the entire day to themselves. "Thank you very much, Mr. Francis," he said, shaking the man's hand. The other three did the same.

"No, thank YOU," Francis said delightedly. "This is the best news I've heard in quite some time. We're finally getting these Reich fellows, once and for all!" He waved to them as they stepped back inside the elevator and began back toward the ground floor.

"I can't believe how easy that went!" Raffi said. "We're actually gonna do this!"

The doors opened and the rest of the group arose suddenly to meet them, all rightfully wondering what had occurred.

"Rest easy, everyone," Nigel announced. "The WOPW will be helping us out. We leave tomorrow!"

The group cheered and some high-fived the others. Joyously, they thanked the receptionists for their help and walked back out into the fresh air of London. The bazaar was still active outside—in fact, far more active than it had been earlier.

"So we're heading to a hotel now," Shade shouted over the din as they passed through the bazaar. "Nigel said that he knows the way, apparently, so we're following him. We might be able to explore London later!"

Nigel grinned from the front of the group as he led them past the street that housed the portal from which they had entered into Magical London. He led them up the cobblestone road, up a slightly steep hill, at the top of which he claimed was this hotel.

A large brown building sat at the top of the hill. People and bellhops filed in and out of it almost religiously, all under a large sign that read 'Jones Hotel.'

"And here we are: the most spectacular view of Magical London!" announced Nigel, turning back around to look down the hill; everyone else did the same.

Nearly all of London was visible from where they stood. People the size of ants darted in and out of its various buildings and miniature-looking cars sped through its many streets. The WOPW headquarters rose majestically above the other buildings, its yellow globe shining radiantly in the sun. A few 'oohs' and 'aahs' were heard from certain members of the group.

Kate sighed. "I could look at this view every day," she said to Laura, who agreed by nodding her head. "London's an amazing city…"

Raffi scanned the tops of the buildings, sighing languorously. There was Big Ben… and the Tower Bridge… and Westminster Abbey… and once again, the WOPW headquarters. But Raffi hesitated. There was something different. Five white lights, rising into the air…

"SHADE!"

"What is it?!" Shade had been speaking to Nigel a few paces away. His eyes followed Raffi's pointing finger… to see the WOPW's headquarters, with five white lights surrounding it.

"No!"

Shade shifted into his dragon form and flew, as quickly as he could, toward the building, although he knew that it was not going to matter. The lights had already joined above the building.

There was a blinding flash of white light, and the sound of an explosion. Shade flew upward, attempting to avoid any remnants of the blast if there was any. The other five dragons with flying abilities joined him.

The smell of smoke filled the air. Screams could be heard from the streets below. The light faded and Shade, blinking, looked down upon the scene.

The headquarters was devastated, more or less a pile of rubble. Buildings around the former headquarters had been pummeled with debris, as had the bazaar, at which bodies were scattered. A fire had started somewhere.

"There's no way anyone survived that," James said, referring to the headquarters. "No way…"

"Dammit!" Shade whirled around and soared back at the hill, where the others were waiting.

"What's going on?!"

"Are they dead?"

"Was it the Reich?"

"We can't wait," Shade growled. "No more waiting. Everyone inside the hotel."

"But Shade…"

"What?!"

"We gotta help them!" Nigel exclaimed. "We gotta search for survivors. The WOPW are the ones helping us!—we owe them."

"Robert Francis was almost certainly KILLED just now, Nigel!" cried Shade. "As well as anyone else inside that building, which I'm guessing is most of the important people in the WOPW. They can't help us anymore. We're it."

"We're going after the Reich alone?!" Will exclaimed in slight apprehension.

"It was our plan before. It is our plan now. It's clear that we aren't going to be able to get any help—everyone on our side has either been captured, turned against us, or killed!"

"It's what Master Shi would've wanted," Ash said. "He'd've wanted us to go through with this."

"He'd've known that we don't have a choice!" agreed Shade. "It's either do or die, everyone. Tonight, either the Reich falls or we fall. Simple as that." He didn't wait for any objections, but instead rushed inside of the hotel, still in dragon form.

Shade flew up to the service desk, at which one woman was sitting. She had been trying to see what was going on outside and appeared to have been about to leave, but once she saw Shade approaching, she retook her seat, eyes wide in fear.

"Where is the nearest teleporter?" demanded Shade. "Do you have one?"

The woman pointed a trembling finger down the hallway behind her. Sure enough, there at the end of the hallway was a glowing teleporter, ready for the taking.

"Thanks," Shade said quickly. He shifted out of his dragon form and hurried into the corridor. By this time, the others in the group had caught up.

"What was the name of the place?" asked Shade aloud. "Santiago de Compostella?"

"That's it!" Kay yelled back.

Shade began to enter the location onto the touchpad. "There's no portal there!" he yelled. "But there's one in San Franco, which apparently is very close. That's where we're headed!"

The portal opened. Without waiting for anyone else, Shade rushed inside, the others following. James, the last inside, sealed the portal, leaving the sudden madness of London behind them.

They had been taken to a dirt road in the center of a small town. The town appeared desolate; everyone was either in their houses or there was no one living there any longer. A lone man sat on a nearby bench.

"Excuse me!" Shade waved at the man, dashing over. "We need directions. Directions?"

The man did not seem to know any English. He shook his head, averting his gaze. Shade sighed. "Santiago de Compostella?" The man's eyes widened. He nodded, pointing off to his right. A road led out of town, a winding dirt road with many trees and a few buildings lining it.

Shade bowed to the man and beckoned the entire group over. "He said it's that way," he announced. "We can follow that path just over there…"

They left, starting off on the path to Santiago de Compostella. The man on the bench watched them go, seemingly highly interested in the group.

The man stood, checking his watch fleetingly. On the palm of his hand was the head of a wolf, etched into the skin as if by a needle. The man stared down at his hand for a few seconds, grinned, and closed his palm over the marking. He glanced back up at the twenty-person group, who were already well out of the town. He chuckled to himself.

"_Ellos han llegado_," he said. "They have arrived."

END CHAPTER

**I hope that everyone understands the significance of 'nine' in this chapter. I tried not to make it too obvious, buuuut… yes, just try to read back through if you don't understand it… notably the last fourth. If anyone still doesn't understand it, let me know. Regardless, it's not exactly a VITAL part of the story, so don't worry about it if you don't get it.**

**Hope everyone liked; sorry it was a bit rushed at the end. I still think it came out well, though! I'm at least happy with the end result.**

**Look for another update hopefully within the next month!**

**Yours in fiction,**

**YFWE**


	16. Chapter 16

**This, if I am not mistaken, should be the next to last chapter of the story. The way I currently see it, this chapter will not likely have much action, as opposed to other chapters in this part. But I have been wrong before.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

The Dragon Chronicles

Part 3: The Mystic Fountain

Chapter 4: The Forest

The path to Santiago de Compostela was a winding one, but it was not necessarily that long. The city was a mere two miles from San Franco, and one could even see the beginnings of the city just a few minutes after beginning the walk up the road.

However, there was actually one other diversion before Santiago de Compostela was reached—another small town, not unlike San Franco. The town, Castillo, was made up of simply a few homes and buildings, with a central statue of what appeared to be a man with a large hat in his hand.

In the nearby valley was Santiago de Compostela, down a long hill. Castillo seemed to be, in effect, the gateway to the city—a final diversion before the true goal was reached.

However, they soon found that just to the right of Castillo's town limits was an immense forest.

Kay had noticed this as soon as they had entered the town. She walked quickly up to the front of the group, where Shade had been speaking hurriedly to Nigel. "Shade," she said. "Mind if I make an observation?"

"Of course," Shade turned away from Nigel. "What is it?"

Kay motioned over to her right. "The forest," she said. "The fountain's in a forest, right?"

"Yeah, the forests outside Santiago de Compostela."

"I think that's our forest. Don't you?"

Shade glanced at the forest, and then down into the valley. This was the only forest area outside of Santiago de Compostela; the other side of the valley was certainly not what would be considered forestry.

Shade turned to the group. "Well," he said, "apparently, we won't need to make a trip through Santiago de Compostela after all."

A figure appeared from behind a building. "Americans?" the figure, a male, asked. Nigel grunted.

"Who's there?" called Shade.

It was a boy of their age. He walked up to them quickly, without any sort of fear. "Americans?" he repeated.

"Well, not _all _Americans," Nigel announced.

"Ah, but you all speak English?"

"…yes, and apparently, so do you," Spud said with suspicion in his voice.

The boy laughed. "We are an area of Spain in which tourists visit often. We have to at least speak some sort of English."

"So the entire area does?"

"Somewhat. There are a few that rather not speak it. The entire town of San Franco is a good example."

"Well, that explains a lot," nodded Shade.

The boy held out his hand. "My name is Sergio," he said. "Welcome to Castillo!"

Shade took his hand and shook it. He could not help but look down at the boy's hand after he had begun to withdraw it. There was a marking on his hand that looked like a wolf's head.

"What's that on your hand?"

"This?" Sergio held up his palm. "Ah—it is… nothing, really. Simply a marking."

"For…?"

"The guardians of the forest," he motioned to the forest beyond them.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with werewolves, would it?" Nigel asked, curious. "We've heard that the forest has a werewolf problem."

Sergio laughed. "It is rumored to. I am surprised that foreigners would know of such a thing, though!"

"We've come to go in the forest," said Shade. "We're… looking for something."

"Baker's Fountain?"

"How did you—"

"Lots of folks come through here looking for it," said Sergio. "Usually foreigners such as yourselves. Although I must say, it is rumored that no one has found it for years.

"And furthermore," Sergio continued, stepping closer to the group, "I for one have never seen any of them come out alive."

"So we just need to head in there?" Shade nodded to the forest behind him, ignoring the boy's dire statement.

"If you believe yourselves to be brave enough, yes. Do remember that the fountain is rumored to appear only at night, so you have seven hours until that time. The entire forest undergoes, I must say, a startling transformation during the evening."

"What do you mean?" Raffi asked.

"It is quite different inside at night," said Sergio coldly. "Familiar places in the daytime may seem far less recognizable come nightfall. Even the guardians of the forest dare not venture inside at dusk."

"No need to worry about us," Ash said confidently. "We have some extra power on our side."

"I'm sure," Sergio grinned. "Strength in numbers, at the very least."

There was a pause, neither side knowing what to say.

Finally: "Well, I'd better get back inside and finish helping Madre with the chores. I was told to come out and greet our visitors, but it would appear as if you all are fine and already aware of where you need to go," said Sergio. "With that, I wish you all good luck in your journey."

Shade and Sergio once again shook hands, Shade unable to resist glancing at the wolf marking on the boy's palm. He waved to the rest of the group and headed back around the building from which he had come.

"In we go, then?" Shade remarked to the group. "I know we have seven hours before we can actually do anything, but perhaps we can find some clues inside before then."

"Agreed," James said. "Maybe we could even find the Reich's base or something!"

There was a narrow path nearby that led into the forest. The group of twenty-one went together up the path, brushing past tree limbs and a few other overgrown plants that were unfamiliar to them.

There was no actual path once inside the forest. Instead, inside was a tangle of tree trunks and limbs, but with enough room to move around cleanly in. Rays of light from the sun shone in some spots, while other areas were already almost completely darkened, even at midday.

"Let me guess," Laura said before Shade could open his mouth. "Split up?"

Shade nodded. "But of course. Everyone see what they can find, but don't be in any rush. We have seven hours until sundown, after all. And the forest really isn't that big."

Slowly, the group began to break apart, some in pairs and group while others by themselves. The sun rose higher in the sky as noon approached. The forest was calm and quiet, certainly not like what Sergio had made it out to be. But then, it was not yet the evening. The worst was yet to come.

(end)

"Where is he?" asked the red-haired woman.

"Sharp?" her newfound accomplice asked quickly.

"_Of course_."

"He's right over here, I think…"

(end)

Councilor Andam hobbled down the long, white corridor inside the building which acted as the Dragon Council's temporary headquarters. He walked with a limp, a dark, wet spot that may have been caused by blood appearing at the bottom of his pants leg. Councilor Kim followed nearby, arm in a sling. There were no other councilors present.

"I don't understand," said Kim. "Councilor, where are we going?"

"I need to take care of something."

"Council rules state that replacements for vacated Council chairs must be appointed within twenty-four hours of the vacating of the spot. We need to—"

"Damn the rules!" shouted Andam. Kim seemed taken aback.

Andam sighed. "Right now, the top priority is stopping the Reich once and for all. As we speak, seven of our own are in God-knows-where, fighting for us. I feel that it is our duty to help them as best as we can."

"But _how_?"

"Here."

They had reached a door. Andam nodded and pointed to a sign on the door, which read 'Storage Cells.'

Kim gasped. "I understand now!" he exclaimed. "That time… at the Stevenson Academy… the orbs…"

Andam opened the door and stepped inside, Kim following. "Councilor Omina would've wanted this as well…" he mused as he witnessed, through the pitch darkness, a small flame burning in a corner, "…hello, my friend."

(end)

"What do you think will happen to us?"

Will turned to Kay, whose gaze pierced his own as she awaited an answer to her question. "I think we'll beat them," he replied, taking her hand and leading her through the mass of trees in that neck of the forest. "The Reich is strong, but all of us together are stronger."

"No…" Kay said. "Not that… I mean _us_. You and I."

Will grinned and led her to a nearby tree, which they sat against. "I dunno," he said. "I mean, what do you want out of this? What do you see us becoming in the future?"

"Raffi and Shade already broke up. I have a bad feeling we're next."

"Do you want it?"

"_No_!"

"Then it won't happen."

Kay rested her head on Will's shoulder. "We don't want it to. But we don't live anywhere near each other! You live in California!"

"There is this radical thing called the internet…"

"Don't take this personal or anything, but I'm not really one for internet relationships."

Sighing, Will threw his arm around Kay, pulling her close. "If you want it to work, it'll have to do. No one ever said this would be easy."

"No one ever said it'd be difficult either!"

Will laughed. "Well, you got me there. I guess such is the nature of things like this that are just kinda made up on the spot." He looked over at her. "Know what I mean?"

"I guess," said Kay. "It just gets hard sometimes… you are my first serious boyfriend I've had. And I'm not sure I want anyone else now…"

"Kay, we haven't even been dating a week…"

"But it seems like so much longer! Plus, we knew each other and had been hanging out for some time before."

"But still," Will said, "you want no one else? _Ever_?"

"Well, what do _you _want? Are you satisfied with me?"

"Kay, I don't want to think about this right now. There are far more important things to be worrying about right now."

"I know that! And it scares me," she stared off into the distance. "But so does this."

"What's to be scared about?"

"You finding someone else."

Will sighed once more. "Trust me when I say this: when we get out of this, if we do, I will make every attempt I can to make this work—that is, if you're willing to. At the very least, know that I would never cheat on you. If things weren't going well, I'd tell you; there'd be no covering up the problem by seeing someone else. Not from me."

"That's all I needed to hear," grinned Kay. "Just that reassurance."

Will kissed her lightly on the forehead and helped her to her feet. "Shade would probably be a bit irked with us if he found us just sitting around. Not sure, but we're better safe than sorry." He grabbed her hand and, side by side, they continued through the woods, in search of any anomalies inside the forest that might lead them closer to Baker's Fountain, and to the Reich.

(end)

Laura was alone, or at least as alone as she could be in the forest; there was, after all, a group of students from the academy quite near to her—she could hear their vague voices. It was the three other shape shifters—Lindsey, Michael and Colin, she had heard them called previously—and they seemed to be moving away from her. This was good—she needed the utmost concentration for what she was about to do next.

She rested her hand on the nearest tree, staring closely at it. Laura was a bit apprehensive—after all, she had not done what she was about to do in a few days. And generally, it took a lot of energy to do so.

Laura's psychic ability, she had discovered just nights prior, was legitimate. It was, really, all thanks to the Reich that the ability had been tapped into. Their awakening of her ability had been carried out so that the fake base the students had been taken to seemed more authentic, but it had become far more beneficial to Laura and the rest of the group than what the Reich had anticipated.

It was not set in stone that it would be helpful in the situation, but Laura knew that her psychic gift to see into the past as it had happened around a particular object would provide her with a better glimpse into what, if anything, had happened in the forest before.

Somewhere in that forest was Baker's Fountain. And since the fountain appeared only at night, Laura thought, any efforts to spot it or anything like it would prove to be futile. But if one could see into the past, perhaps to the night prior, one might be able to see if the fountain stood on that spot, or at anywhere near.

The problem was that Laura could not control the timeframe into which she was looking. It was an aspect of her power that very well might have been able to be controlled later on in life, when her powers had grown in strength. But at that point, as a novice of sorts, she could do no more than to hope that her usage of her ability yielded favorable results.

She closed her eyes and concentrated hard, allowing herself to take in the sensations and memories that were flowing toward her.

Figures began to form—unrecognizable at first, but slowly gaining stature. And then, she understood.

(end)

She let the phone drop to her bed.

"I'm coming, Jake."

(end)

It was a magnificent view, and Shade could not help but to pause at it for at least a few moments. A few moments, after all, could not hurt much…

He had come to a spot outside the reach of the forest, overlooking the valley that held Santiago de Compostela. He smiled warmly at the contents of the valley—its rustic buildings, its cobblestone paths and its bustling population. Smoke rose from the various chimneys. Sounds of labor could be heard even atop the hill. It was a very picaresque town.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"How long've you been standing there?"

Raffi grinned as she made her way to Shade's side. "Long enough to see you admiring the scenery, which is what I thought we _weren't _supposed to do," she added with a wink.

"Aw, lay off, it was just for a few seconds."

Raffi sat herself down on the grassy ground. "It's just weird…"

"Hm?" Shade asked, forcing himself to stay standing.

"This could be the last truly beautiful thing we ever see."

Shade turned to her quickly. "Don't talk like that!" he shouted.

"I said _might_..." said Raffi defensively. "There's always the chance."

Groaning, Shade finally sat down beside her. "I know, and it's scaring me."

"You?! The fearless leader?" Raffi asked in mock-surprise.

" But I also know that it's our duty," said Shade solemnly, "and I'm just going to hope for the best."

"I think we all are…"

Shade glanced over at Raffi. "Have you really thought about it? I mean, the enormity of the situation. How on earth are we gonna destroy that fountain?"

Raffi shook her head.

"I mean, and that is, of course, granting that we get past the Reich! I just feel like this is a losing battle sometimes."

"Have you talked to Nigel? Or maybe Will and his friends from the academy? Maybe they know something…"

"Spoke to Nigel. He didn't know of any way to destroy a magical fountain, except to stop the source. But how do you 'stop' water?"

"No clue. I feel like we should've asked Master Shi about this."

"That would've been the ideal thing to do," Shade sighed. "Unfortunately, we don't have that option anymore. But what I would give for him to be here with us…"

Raffi laid her hand on Shade's shoulder lightly. "Master Shi wouldn't've wanted us to quit, though. He never quit. Hoffman never quit. We have to fight. We have to try. And if we die doing so, then so be it."

"It'd be better than waiting for them to find and kill us," came Ash's voice from behind them. Both Shade and Raffi turned around, momentarily startled by the sudden additional voice in the conversation.

Ash hurried over to them, "Sorry to intrude, guys. But it was kinda important…"

"What do you need? Is something wrong?" asked Shade.

"Maybe," Ash motioned for them to follow her. "Someone's missing."

"It's a big forest; you sure they didn't go off by themselves?"

"Not sure, I'm not the one that's delivering the message. Mark up here… he's the one who wanted to talk to you."

With a weary grunt, Shade stood, Raffi following suit. A group of academy students were standing at the tree line, Mark, the shape shifter, at the front. "What is it, Mark? Who's missing?" asked Shade.

"Chris," Mark replied, "one of the wizards. He was with us at first, but now he's gone—and he didn't tell anyone he was leaving!"

The five others in the group—four wizards and a witch from the academy—nodded in agreement. "He never went off without me," added a wizard, Tracy.

"When was the last time you noticed he was with you?" Raffi asked.

"There was a part of the path we were on that got incredibly narrow," Mark explained, "and at one point we had to squeeze between two tree branches. Chris would've been the last one through, but he never made it through."

"We've been looking for the past half hour," said a girl named Emily. "Nothing."

Shade sighed. "I'm sure he'll turn up. Have any of you found any clues in the meantime?"

Mark shook his head, gaze lowered to the ground. "None at all. Have you?"

"No. In fact, I'm beginning to think that there are no clues. I suppose that when it was said that the forest only revealed its secrets at night, it meant _everything_."

Ash looked back into the forest. "Probably. But then again, maybe the others are having better luck…"

(end)

"Edge of the forest," said Nigel, scanning the field outside the forest, "and still nothing."

"I gotta tell ya, this blows," Trixie lamented as she took a seat on a nearby tree stump. "Finding nothing frightens me even more about what's to come."

"Why's that?"

"Well…" started Trixie, "if we were to find a clue of some sorts—anything—at least we'd know more about what to expect. But instead, we've got nothing."

Spud was rummaging around in a pile of leaves nearby, as he had done with virtually every pile of leaves. "The pile of leaves could be a cover-up," he had said. "They could be hiding something under them!"

Nigel sat down on another stump. "I know what you mean. At least the others have engaged in combat with this Reich lot. We haven't even done that."

"Yeah," said Trixie. "Y'know… sometimes I wonder if it was in our best interest to come with them…"

"I didn't think we were doing this because it was in our best interest, Trix," called Spud as he descended on another leaf pile. "I thought we were doing this for Jake."

"Yeah, but Jake's in New York, not here," Trixie stood and began to pace.

"Not necessarily," said Nigel. "I would think that the Reich would bring them here, especially if they thought that we might be coming."

"Did they know, though?"

"…well, you'd think… I don't know…"

"Guess we'll find out tonight," Trixie said soberly.

"Guess so."

There was silence for a few moments, save for the sound of the crunching of leaves. The sun was becoming lower and lower in the sky; it was probably an hour until sunset.

The rustling and crunching stopped. Trixie and Nigel looked over to see Spud bending over at a particular pile, as if he was picking up some object. Spud turned to face the other two and held up what appeared to be snakeskin at first.

Nigel held out a hand and Spud laid the skin in his hand. Nigel's eyes widened. "Well, this isn't good."

"What is it, snakeskin?" asked Trixie.

"No…" whispered Nigel. "Something… much worse."

"Dragon skin?" Spud chimed in.

"Wyvern skin."

Spud's brow furrowed. "What's a wyvern?"

"Like a dragon…" explained Nigel, "but their wings are generally their arms and they stand on two legs. Oh, and they travel in packs."

"Great," sighed Trixie. "So there's these wyvern things in the forest at night too?!"

"I'd guess so. Along with the werewolves. Looks like the Reich has this fountain pretty well-protected. You two should probably stay close to me or someone with magical powers tonight."

"That sounds like a brilliant idea," said Spud. "Now," he clasped his hands together, "looks like the sun's gonna set within the hour. I say we go look for the others and tell them what we've found."

"We'll do just that," Nigel replied. "I just hope they were more successful than we were."

(end)

Chris awoke and immediately panicked, for he had not known that he had even _been_ unconscious and therefore had no idea where he was. His inability to see anything besides pitch-black nothingness did not help.

But out of it all, he could hear voices. Voices that were certainly not speaking English. He had never taken any classes in the language, but it sounded to him like they were speaking Spanish.

"Wh-who's there?" he called in desperation. "Why can't I see?!"

The voices stopped. Chris sensed someone walking over to him, and realized that he was laying down on some sort of bed-like object. He tried to move, but found that his ankles and wrists were shackled to the object on which he lay.

"It is awake," said a man. "_Excellente."_

"Who are you? Where are you? Why can't I see?!" demanded Chris.

The man laughed. "Relax, American. It will go quicker if you do not fight it."

"Fight what?!"

"_Paco, viene. _Come."

Chris could hear another person walking toward him, presumably Paco.

"Are you prepared to administer the bite?" the man asked.

"_Si, _I am," replied Paco.

What came next, Chris could not explain, for his eyesight was still gone. There was a sound of rustling near him, and then a low, guttural growl, followed by heavy breathing.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Chris cried out one last time. He heard a snarl, and then the unbearable pain of dagger-like fangs digging into his skin.

(end)

Laura had found what she believed to be the fountain's location.

In fact, she was standing right at the entrance.

In her vision, she could visibly see members of the Reich brushing past her on their way into a large clearing that certainly was not present during the day in the forest. As though by magic, the trees that had once occupied said clearing had been pushed to the side and then bended over the clearing so that only a small portion of the night sky was visible.

The clearing had been lowered so that it was about ten feet lower than the rest of the forest, and there was a dirt ground rather than a grass-covered one. At the center of the clearing was a small fountain, surrounded by white marble. Robed figures were crowded around the fountain, drinking its contents. There were wooden chairs fashioned out of the surrounding trees beyond the fountain, with a larger, throne-like chair at the head. Adam Sharp sat atop the throne, with many recognizable people occupying the other chairs.

Laura glanced to her right, and then to her left. In the depths of the remaining forest, she could make out multiple creatures running amongst the woods—werewolves in particular. However, other creatures—creatures she did not even know the name of—were out there as well.

Deciding that she had seen about as much as she could see, Laura concentrated and was able to end the vision. She blinked her eyes a few times as she steadied herself upon the tree. "It's here," she whispered. "The fountain is here… I have to find the others!"

Laura removed her shirt (she still had a tank top underneath) and laid it by the tree. Then, changing into her dragon form, she soared back in the direction she had come from. She had to find the rest of the group, and quick—the sun was about to set.

As she ran away, however, figures began to appear amidst the trees, making their way toward the tree—most notably, a red-haired woman.

(end)

The rest of the group had already congregated near the entrance of the forest, save for Laura, Chris, Nigel, Trixie and Spud. Others such as James and Kate had reported back with nothing to show for their journeys—no clues, no nothing. The search for clues as to where the fountain might be had proven futile, and they were back where they started—and with nothing to show for it.

"Sun's almost down," remarked James, effectively a silence-breaker.

"You all ready, then?" Shade asked. "I have a feeling that once the sun goes down, all Hell's pretty much gonna break loose."

"Shall we go into dragon forms now?" Kay asked.

"Yeah. Anyone who has an alternate form should probably go into that form right now. Better safe than sorry."

They proceeded deeper into the forest, walking without a real endpoint at that time. They did not know where the fountain would spring up exactly, but they were bound to cross its path eventually.

Nearby, there was the sound of snapping tree branches, becoming louder and louder. Something was approaching them.

An orange blur sped past them, turned, and soared back toward them. It landed in front of them, and the group discovered that the orange blur was an extremely out-of-breath Laura.

"Guys!" she gasped. "Y-you have t-to foll-low me!"

"What is it?" asked Shade excitedly. "Did you find something?!"

"The fountain!" Laura shouted quickly, before turning and heading back toward the tree where she had seen her vision at. Without a moment's hesitation, the others followed.

(end)

"You're late," LaGuardia growled at the approaching man.

"My dear Marisa," said Adam Sharp, his hands clasped together, "the sun has not yet set. We are in no hurry."

"No hurry? Do you think so?" snarled LaGuardia. "Then perhaps you were not aware that your former students are in this forest _as we speak_?"

Sharp's eyes widened. "I was not… how—"

"It was just as I predicted. They've figured out the location of the fountain and wish to destroy it once and for all. So I took the liberty of ordering our 'slaves' to this location… they should be here momentarily."

"That's… good," said Sharp.

"The time has come," LaGuardia continued. "The final battle is imminent. I'm sure you know what this means…"

"I… think I know."

"Magnificent," LaGuardia stared off into the horizon, watching as the sun set over the mountains. She snapped her fingers, and immediately the nearby trees began to split apart, collecting together at the sides and bending over the clearing that was formed. The ground sank, and finally visible was a marble fountain. LaGuardia stepped forward. "Then you won't mind stepping aside, I'm sure."

"B-but Marisa… please be reasonable…"

"I believe I have been reasonable enough, Sharp."

Other members of the Reich had congregated behind LaGuardia, and none seemed to know what was going on, judging by the confused looks on their faces.

Finally, Warburton stepped forward. "My Lord, what is going on here?" he addressed Sharp.

"It is nothing, James," said Sharp, trembling. "Just… something between myself and Marisa."

LaGuardia groaned. "Oh, you vile old man, the charade is over! You can tell them everything now." Sharp's eyes widened in fear.

"Yes, yes, you can tell them everything!" continued LaGuardia. "Tell them, my dear Adam, who _really _decided to experiment on the dragons. Tell them who _really _decided to bring the children to your damned academy.

"Yes, Sharp, tell your most loyal subjects who has really been running the show all this time. Let them know who they work for. Adam Sharp, tell them who the REAL Sovereign is!"

"It is YOU!" cried Sharp as he fell to his knees. "You, Marisa, my Lord! You are the Sovereign!"

Gasps were heard from the other Reich members. A few stifled no's were even heard.

LaGuardia smirked. "The man speaks the truth. Yes, it is I, the Sovereign. But worry not, friends—nothing much shall change, as I have been in charge all along. Our mission is still quite simple: kill the dragons and their friends at all costs.

"Tonight, an attack will be made on our base. The dragons will be coming any minute now, if our 'friends' outside the base do not get to them first! Whatever must be done will be done. Be not afraid to kill, for it shall be done. But above all, defend the fountain. It is what they are after."

"But surely the fountain cannot be destroyed?" called a woman.

"We do not know the full power of the fountain, nor do we know all its secrets!" LaGuardia shouted so all could hear. "Dare I say it, they may know something that we do not."

There was a flapping of wings overhead. People began to point upward, eyes wide. "Do not be alarmed!" said LaGuardia. "It is merely the dragons of the world, our slaves. They are under our mind control and shall join us in the fight. With them, I do believe that we shall be unbeatable! And so, I say to you all know—let us enter our lair, and wait for them! And once we finally vanquish them, there will be a mere few others left in our way, and then the entire magical world will be GONE!"

"We need to drink first," said Kenneth Harrelson quietly, "from the fountain. It has been a long time since our last drink. We are becoming weak…"

"There is no time, Kenneth. They will be here any moment!" LaGuardia turned and started toward the entrance. But to her surprise, it was blocked—by none other than Adam Sharp.

"Please, Marisa," whispered Sharp. "I was not ready to…relinquish power."

"Ha!" LaGuardia laughed. "What power?! You were a mere puppet! Now stand aside—"

"I DID have power! I was respected. I have followers," he gazed behind LaGuardia. "Kenneth… James… Marcus…"

"I warn you again, Sharp—stand aside!"

"It is all I have left!"

"Last chance."

"I—"

A brilliant flash of light was emitted from LaGuardia's palms. It hit Sharp square in the chest, sending him sprawling backward. He lay motionless at the entrance.

"Let this be a lesson to all," announced LaGuardia, "that I am your Lord, and you shall obey me. Any who dare defy me shall meet the same unfortunate end as dear old Adam Sharp here." She turned to the entrance, whispering, "I regret it," under her breath as she moved forward. "Mind the body!" she called as she stepped over him.

Meanwhile, the dragons and the academy students dashed through the woods, Laura leading them along. They had slowed since the sun had set, so as to avoid running into trees, which had begun to blend into the dark.

Laura tore past a final branch and stopped abruptly, causing a mild pileup behind her. She shushed them and pointed ahead. The last of the Reich members were entering the clearing in the forest, and Sharp's body still lay nearby. "It's just in there," whispered Laura. "They'll all be inside the clearing." Since they were crouched to the ground, they could not see down into the clearing, but they could certainly tell that one was there.

"Is that Sharp?" asked Shade, eyes wide in disbelief.

"…yeah, I think so…"

"You guys stay here," Shade pushed through the branches and, still crouching, began to tiptoe slowly toward Sharp. "I'll be back."

Shade dashed quickly to the side so as to avoid detection. The entrance to the clearing was narrow, so he could be unseen by anyone inside the clearing if he was far enough to the side. In moments, he was at Sharp's side.

The old man was bleeding from both his eyes and mouth, and was trembling slightly; he seemed to be experiencing his final moments alive. Shade reverted to human form and slowly leaned over Sharp's face.

The man's eyes seemed to detect that he was there, although Shade could not find much life staring back at him. "S-Shade…?" sputtered Sharp. "So… s-she was r-right."

Shade did not know what to say, and kept staring ahead at this dying man, the man whom he had once trusted, the man who was supposedly his biggest enemy. All of a sudden, however, he did not seem so imposing.

Sharp looked up into Shade's eyes and opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something. "I…" was the only word he could manage, however, as more blood spurted from his mouth and he began to cough uncontrollably, until seconds later he moved no more.

Shade stayed by the man's side for perhaps another minute longer, unable to take his eyes from the man. But finally, he forced himself up and reverted back into his dragon form. He motioned for the others to join him where he stood. "Sharp is dead," he whispered. "I dunno what happened exactly, but he's gone."

"One more off the list, then, right?" asked Raffi.

Shade did not answer. Instead, he turned to the entrance and began to walk toward it. "It's time, guys," he whispered. "It's now or never." They followed—Raffi at first, then Ash, and then the rest, stepping blindly into the beautiful unknown.

(end)

A humongous full moon had risen over the forest—a strange occurrence to Spud. "It's not even near the time of the month for a full moon," he remarked. "I don't understand this."

He, Nigel and Trixie were walking through the forest, unable to find anyone from the group. They had taken to the forest edge near Santiago de Compostela, however, and figured that they would come to the forest's entrance sooner or later. Perhaps then, they would find a familiar face.

A bloodcurdling howl was heard nearby. Trixie immediately grabbed Spud's arm. "Stay close," Nigel warned. "That's the howl of a werewolf if I ever heard one."

They continued walking, Nigel scanning each and every direction as they went. "Spudinski," whispered Trixie, her voice wavering in fear, "i-if we don't make it out, there's something I gotta tell ya…"

"What's that, Trix?"

Before she could answer, a large, dark figure jumped from behind a tree on the left and lunged at the group. Trixie screamed, and Nigel threw himself in front of them as Spud pulled Trixie to the ground.

Nigel muttered an incantation as quickly as he could and sent a small ball of blue light at the lunging monster, but it was not near enough nor was it nearly in time, and the beast bowled over Nigel. "Werewolf!" cried Spud, and he attempted to kick at the wolf whilst he lay on the ground. But the werewolf only had eyes for Trixie.

Trixie began to back away as quickly as she could, still on her back. But the werewolf was obviously quicker. To her dismay, it clamped down on her leg, and began to pull her back toward him. "No!" Spud cried as he leapt to his feet. "You leave her alone!" he began to pound on the werewolf's massive back.

A blinding flash of blue light came from behind the werewolf and sent it sprawling. Nigel had gotten to his feet and had been able to perform a much stronger spell on the wolf—strong enough for it to relinquish its grip on Trixie's leg. Nigel continued to send blasts of magic at the werewolf, repelling it from where they stood. Whimpering, the werewolf took off and was heard tearing through tree branches deep in the woods.

Nigel wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Wow," he sighed. "Close one. You two alright?"

"I'm fine…" nodded Spud as he dusted himself. "Trix? Can I see your leg?"

Trixie did not answer Spud. She began to moan and slowly began to shake.

"…Trix?" Spud asked again.

Trixie began to shake more violently. Nigel's eyes widened and he dashed at Spud. "Get away from her!" he cried as he grabbed onto Spud's shoulders and flung him backward.

There was a ripping sound as Trixie's body began to increase in mass. Her jeans tore, and brown hair sprouted through them. Her shoes burst open as her feet rushed out, the toenails blackening and lengthening as they dug into the dirt.

"Oh, no…" Nigel said, his voice quivering. "No, no, no…"

"Trixie!" shouted Spud. "No!"

END CHAPTER

**Well, I enjoyed that, I suppose, and I hope you all did as well. Nonetheless, I have stayed up about three hours longer than I previously intended in order to finish this chapter, and I need sleep like no other.**

**Ladies and gentlemen, next chapter will be the last. I hope you all have enjoyed the fanfic up to this point, and I will work my hardest to make the final chapter unforgettable.**

**Reviews are always welcome and certainly brighten my day. Thank you all dearly for reading.**

**Yours in fiction,**

**YFWE**


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